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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Cute but not my favorite
funny
informative
reflective
tense
medium-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
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5* rounded down.
I’m not deaf or hard of hearing so I can’t comment on the representation. I will just share my thoughts on the rest.
This book was..okay. Unfortunately the negatives outweighed any positives for me.
First of all, this read as more of a middle grade book than a YA. The writing was fine, but it was rather juvenile.
Second, I didn’t really care for the characters. Our MC was not the brightest crayon in the box, she did things frequently that didn’t make any sense, she was a little self centered and very unprepared for everything, all the time. She was honestly really irresponsible. The side characters were fine, none of them stood out to me. They somewhat blended together. None of them really have any development, either.
Third, the romance was nothing special. It was cute-ish, but it was pretty typical insta love that heavily lacked chemistry.
Fourth, the book was just…i don’t know, one thing after another? Like it was constantly complaints, problems, problematic situations, campers acting out, characters acting irresponsibly/selfishly and getting into absurd situations. I understand needing to show the negative things that can happen and the struggles that deaf + hard of hearing people deal with, but there was NO positives. It wasn’t fun or cute, it was just consistently bad situations that escalate and it stressed me out tbh. And some of those bad situations make NO sense, like a ton of minors going to the bar and drinking and the owner being “happy to have them there” like
I’m not deaf or hard of hearing so I can’t comment on the representation. I will just share my thoughts on the rest.
This book was..okay. Unfortunately the negatives outweighed any positives for me.
First of all, this read as more of a middle grade book than a YA. The writing was fine, but it was rather juvenile.
Second, I didn’t really care for the characters. Our MC was not the brightest crayon in the box, she did things frequently that didn’t make any sense, she was a little self centered and very unprepared for everything, all the time. She was honestly really irresponsible. The side characters were fine, none of them stood out to me. They somewhat blended together. None of them really have any development, either.
Third, the romance was nothing special. It was cute-ish, but it was pretty typical insta love that heavily lacked chemistry.
Fourth, the book was just…i don’t know, one thing after another? Like it was constantly complaints, problems, problematic situations, campers acting out, characters acting irresponsibly/selfishly and getting into absurd situations. I understand needing to show the negative things that can happen and the struggles that deaf + hard of hearing people deal with, but there was NO positives. It wasn’t fun or cute, it was just consistently bad situations that escalate and it stressed me out tbh. And some of those bad situations make NO sense, like a ton of minors going to the bar and drinking and the owner being “happy to have them there” like
This book will be very important to a lot of people, I can just tell. Perhaps not me, but someone. Lilah is a very useful middle character as someone who is raised to be hearing-passing but craves more of Deaf culture, allowing us to learn with her as she goes back to Camp Greywolf. Give Me a Sign provides a lot of insight into said Deaf culture, one that many readers would never see because, as the author very accurately points out in her author's note, many times deaf characters are regulated to side characters that don't see much screen time or are there to be pitied. Things may be better now, but you still don't get many stories like this, where you are fully immersed and get to see the full experience of the life and joys of Deaf people. They are not victims or people who need fixed, and this books puts a huge emphasis on that.
Isaac, our love interest, is also fun in the sense that he's just adorable. There's no brooding bad boy here. Just a cute little dork who is figuring out how to properly convey to the girl he's crushing on that he likes her. And how better to do that than to offer her fruit roll ups??? He's just such a real dude, ya know? I think that's my favorite part of the cast. They may all be a bit basic, but at the end of the day, they all feel real.
First person point of view was also used amazingly in this book, allowing us readers to only know what Lilah did. When she is hard of hearing and has limited sign knowledge, this only allows her to know some of what is said and signed, and the author only let us know what she knew. It was actually really fun and let us, to an extent, experience the limited input that is provided when you're forced to rely on hearing when you have hearing loss and the society refuses to encourage sign language.
However, the book had some issues. Although its messages were good, its delivery wasn't the best. More often than not, it broke narrative to educate/talk at the readers, and it felt like it'd be better breaking up some of the messages in multiple books perhaps to organically express the messages maybe? Instead they were blatantly spoken at the reader, which gave the preachy feel and runs the risk of pushing people off. Also, some of the drama was realllly forced.
Despite these flaws, though, it was a fun read, and it seemed to come from a good place rather than to force a message. Something I'd definitely recommend, especially for its intended age range, even if I wished it'd been executed better.
Isaac, our love interest, is also fun in the sense that he's just adorable. There's no brooding bad boy here. Just a cute little dork who is figuring out how to properly convey to the girl he's crushing on that he likes her. And how better to do that than to offer her fruit roll ups??? He's just such a real dude, ya know? I think that's my favorite part of the cast. They may all be a bit basic, but at the end of the day, they all feel real.
First person point of view was also used amazingly in this book, allowing us readers to only know what Lilah did. When she is hard of hearing and has limited sign knowledge, this only allows her to know some of what is said and signed, and the author only let us know what she knew. It was actually really fun and let us, to an extent, experience the limited input that is provided when you're forced to rely on hearing when you have hearing loss and the society refuses to encourage sign language.
However, the book had some issues. Although its messages were good, its delivery wasn't the best. More often than not, it broke narrative to educate/talk at the readers, and it felt like it'd be better breaking up some of the messages in multiple books perhaps to organically express the messages maybe? Instead they were blatantly spoken at the reader, which gave the preachy feel and runs the risk of pushing people off. Also, some of the drama was realllly forced.
Despite these flaws, though, it was a fun read, and it seemed to come from a good place rather than to force a message. Something I'd definitely recommend, especially for its intended age range, even if I wished it'd been executed better.
This rating may seem low, but I really did enjoy the book. I've always loved ASL and I think the way the author depicted it was accurate. The ASL stuff definitely was my key thing on why I liked this book.
Other than that, everything else kind of fell flat? The romance was cute, but like they're obviously not going to last. So realistic, I guess. The title of the book definitely makes it seem more romance oriented rather than more so looking into the details and the life and an abundance of unique characters with a subplot romance, which is always great. However, I was kind of very much in the mood for something to take me away, and this didn't really do it. Definitely more of a personal rating, because otherwise I probably would've rated this 4 stars.
Other than that, everything else kind of fell flat? The romance was cute, but like they're obviously not going to last. So realistic, I guess. The title of the book definitely makes it seem more romance oriented rather than more so looking into the details and the life and an abundance of unique characters with a subplot romance, which is always great. However, I was kind of very much in the mood for something to take me away, and this didn't really do it. Definitely more of a personal rating, because otherwise I probably would've rated this 4 stars.
3.5 ⭐️ rounded to 4
This book is an absolute must to read via audio format! The representation for the deaf/HOH community is phenomenal. I'm a hearing person who aside from working in geriatrics has only come across one person in the community. I remember much of our interaction and through this book learned a few things that could have helped our day go by better like always facing her when speaking and though I'm soft spoken always trying to enunciate my words.
I loved that the audio included muffled sounds represented when Lilah couldn't hear clearly and wrote how to sign certain terms she was learning. I found myself practicing in the car as I listened
As far as the storyline itself goes...I don't feel like Lilah was ready to be a junior counselor. I felt like she was immature would have benefited more from being a camper another year rather than a counselor. McKenzie was an interesting character and though she wanted to be an interpreter seemed to only know the language and not the culture. It seemed so wild but also understood that there is people like that in real life who mean well but doesn't necessarily always do well.
This book is an absolute must to read via audio format! The representation for the deaf/HOH community is phenomenal. I'm a hearing person who aside from working in geriatrics has only come across one person in the community. I remember much of our interaction and through this book learned a few things that could have helped our day go by better like always facing her when speaking and though I'm soft spoken always trying to enunciate my words.
I loved that the audio included muffled sounds represented when Lilah couldn't hear clearly and wrote how to sign certain terms she was learning. I found myself practicing in the car as I listened
As far as the storyline itself goes...I don't feel like Lilah was ready to be a junior counselor. I felt like she was immature would have benefited more from being a camper another year rather than a counselor. McKenzie was an interesting character and though she wanted to be an interpreter seemed to only know the language and not the culture. It seemed so wild but also understood that there is people like that in real life who mean well but doesn't necessarily always do well.
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-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
A sweet camp story with powerful themes of Deaf pride, self-advocacy, standing up for others, and identity. I loved the way that Lilah owned her identity by the end of the book, and journeying with her as she learned ASL was a beautiful portrayal of learning. In the audiobook, you can hear the sound of someone signing when a character signs, which is so great. I didn't really connect with the characters, and I felt like some of the campers' stories were not wrapped up or explained. Also the love story between Lilah and Isaac was kind of unclear, and I found myself frustrated with Isaac's lack of communication after a major incident that leaves Lilah reeling.
A very YA read, but brought some great perspectives and things to think about related to the deaf and hard of hearing community.