You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great story for young people to see themselves represented in a story who are Deaf. The culture and the tension in the story is a good representation of what people of the Deaf Community face in society.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel for an honest review. It is set to be published in July 2023.
"Give Me a Sign" by Anna Sortino is a fresh coming-of-age novel telling the story of a Deaf teenager who goes to summer camp, where she finds her community and discovers her identity.
I am not part of the Deaf community, and I admit that before picking up this book, I had never heard the phrase "Deaf pride", and I was completely unaware of so many of the obstacles and dangers that Deaf people have to deal with on a daily basis, in a world that is mostly designed for the hearing.
What can I say? I was initially drawn in by the beautiful cover art, and then the writing style and the story totally captivated me; I read the second half of the book in one sitting, because by that point I couldn't put it down.
I found the characters extremely relatable - even though we live very different lives - and, even if at times there was more exposition than I would normally like in a novel, it didn't annoy me as much as it usually does, because these were things that I honestly knew nothing about, and I didn't mind too much being lectured about.
Overall, I immensely enjoyed this novel, not only for the romance, but most of all for giving me the chance to experience the world through a whole new perspective. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author, and hopefully from other Deaf writers just as talented!
"Give Me a Sign" by Anna Sortino is a fresh coming-of-age novel telling the story of a Deaf teenager who goes to summer camp, where she finds her community and discovers her identity.
I am not part of the Deaf community, and I admit that before picking up this book, I had never heard the phrase "Deaf pride", and I was completely unaware of so many of the obstacles and dangers that Deaf people have to deal with on a daily basis, in a world that is mostly designed for the hearing.
What can I say? I was initially drawn in by the beautiful cover art, and then the writing style and the story totally captivated me; I read the second half of the book in one sitting, because by that point I couldn't put it down.
I found the characters extremely relatable - even though we live very different lives - and, even if at times there was more exposition than I would normally like in a novel, it didn't annoy me as much as it usually does, because these were things that I honestly knew nothing about, and I didn't mind too much being lectured about.
Overall, I immensely enjoyed this novel, not only for the romance, but most of all for giving me the chance to experience the world through a whole new perspective. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author, and hopefully from other Deaf writers just as talented!
This was really sweet and very important, and also made me very nostalgic about summer camp
I loved this book! The author seamlessly combines a great storyline about kids at a Summer camp that happen to be some amount of deaf and or blind. As someone that works in the special education world, I really loved learning even more about it from the perspective of the child themselves. The author did a fantastic job modeling what good self advocacy for people with different needs looks like.
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This adorable summer camp romance deals with Lilah's journey as a person with hearing loss who doesn't feel at home in either community. She gains the confidence to forge her own path without constantly accommodating her hearing friends and family. It was a beautiful depiction of how important community is. I loved it!
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I never went to sleepaway summer camp, but this one seems supremely sketchy. Qualifications for "camp counselor" can't be very rigorous, since they let high school students do the job, but I don't think Lilah got enough training. Realistic romance, slice of life, no action, not my thing. I am not the ideal reader for this novel. However, the author does a really good job at making me squirm, feeling Lilah's daily discomfort as being hard of hearing affects her life, and the fact that she and her brother, both deaf, were growing and learning to advocate for themselves did make for a satisfying ending.
Rating: 3.5-4 stars
I found this book to be a really nice Teen/YA read. I would like to think this book did a nice job of not only introducing/working through the struggles that hard of-hear/non-hearing people go through on a daily basis but also constantly referencing how not everyone with disabilities is not the same and when treated as such can do more harm than good.
I will say that I am a hearing person and so it isn't my place to say that this book is completely accurate or has good representation. That is for the hard of hearing/non-hearing and blind community to make that decision (hence the "I would like to" statement).
Now on to the rest of the review.
Lilah: I found Lilah to be a good protagonist overall (even though she had her moments of "really Lilah"
I found this book to be a really nice Teen/YA read. I would like to think this book did a nice job of not only introducing/working through the struggles that hard of-hear/non-hearing people go through on a daily basis but also constantly referencing how not everyone with disabilities is not the same and when treated as such can do more harm than good.
I will say that I am a hearing person and so it isn't my place to say that this book is completely accurate or has good representation. That is for the hard of hearing/non-hearing and blind community to make that decision (hence the "I would like to" statement).
Now on to the rest of the review.
Lilah: I found Lilah to be a good protagonist overall (even though she had her moments of "really Lilah"
informative
lighthearted
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality