You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is WILD. I learned so much about Deaf culture and it was nice to have the story told through three characters that all have different experiences with deafness and being a part of the community in their own ways.
There is also an anarchist aspect to this book that escalates very quickly but I thought made sense overall with the Deaf history that’s sprinkled throughout.
This book walks the line of being YA and adult very well. While it mostly takes place in a high school the plot isn’t overly YA and there’s also an adult narrator who helps ground the kid’s perspectives on what’s happening. With that, the ending did feel really contrived to make everything work out ok for them, so that aspect it did feel more YA.
There is a page in this book with detailed instructions to build a bomb
There is also an anarchist aspect to this book that escalates very quickly but I thought made sense overall with the Deaf history that’s sprinkled throughout.
This book walks the line of being YA and adult very well. While it mostly takes place in a high school the plot isn’t overly YA and there’s also an adult narrator who helps ground the kid’s perspectives on what’s happening. With that, the ending did feel really contrived to make everything work out ok for them, so that aspect it did feel more YA.
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just not in the mood to read a mystery right now
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a tough one to rate, because for most of the book I was thinking 4 stars. But then the ending left me wanting so much more and I'm struggling with that.
The book follows (mainly) three characters who are connected through River Valley School for the Deaf. Charlie is a sophomore, just transferring to the school because she is doing so poorly at her hearing school. She got a cochlear implant as a child, but has never had true success with it and so doesn't have access to any full language since her parents are hearing and did not learn/teach her sign language. Austin is a junior and comes from "deaf royalty" - his entire maternal bloodline is deaf. They are very involved in the deaf community and he's one of the more popular boys in school. February is the head master of the boarding school, descended from 2 deaf parents. She lives with her wife, Mel, and her deaf mother on campus. The book is a bit of a coming of age story for Charlie, but also about a time of turmoil for the school, and a time of transition for Austin?? Also anarchy?? I guess one of my issues with the book is it was trying to do a bit too much because I can't even truly identify what the main plot line was. There were a lot of them, which in itself is not a problem; the problem is i don't know that any were adequately explored. Overall, though, I enjoyed the reading experience of this book and I was kept entertained. It was just at the end I kind of looked back and was like "wait but what about all this other stuff?"
Things I liked:
1. the cover/title - love a bold colorful cover
2. the audiobook - great listening experience. the author signed all the ASL dialogue in the book and recorded herself doing so. So on top of the audio we heard of what they were saying, we also heard her hand and mouth movements behind it. It was a great way to distinguish when something was being spoken aloud versus signed. the narrators did a good job too.
3. the learning - i learned so much from this book and had a lot of fun doing so. i have never read about deaf culture or history, but both are fascinating and left me wanting to read more books about this community. i appreciated the breaks between chapters with history lessons or signing lessons, information about deaf grammar, how they use their bodies fully to communicate, etc. really good stuff.
4. the plot lines sort of? for the most part, i was very intrigued by all the plot lines. february's mom dying and her having difficulties in her marriage, wanting someone else. the school closing down. austin's baby sister being hearing, but then actually being deaf and his parents wanting to get her a cochlear implant. charlie major struggles from being language deprived for so long, her teenage angst, her terrible relationship with her mother, her battle with the cochlear implant/needing it removed/her parents wanting to try again. but then the end of the book resolved none of it. and it didn't feel like a non-resolution in a poetic way. it just kind of felt like tf? which brings me to:
Things I didn't like:
1. the resolution of nothing at the end of the book
2. the other plot lines - why was a vengeful ex-girlfriend (austin's ex, gabriella) included? it added nothing to story. the book also introduces kyle/"slash", an old flame of charlie's from hearing school. and he's suddenly an anarchist? and the book ends with them (austin, charlie, austin's roommate eliot, and slash's gang) going to blow up a cochlear implant factory? like i'm sorry, but that was so out of left field lol. it could have been cool i think? but with everything else the author was doing in the book, there was too much going on for this to be fleshed out enough.
3. random inclusion of black ASL history, but not an adequate exploration - charlie's roommate at deaf school (kayla) is black and at one point in the book, austin corrects kayla's sign language to a more "white" sign for a word. it causes a rift. but it felt forced and random. and once it was introduced, it felt like there wasn't enough attention given to it. so then it almost felt more tacked on. i understand why she wanted to include it, because it's very important. it just deserved more.
4. eliot and kayla were 2 of the more interesting characters and didn't get nearly enough page time. kayla, because of the above and eliot because he suffered religious violence (a pastor tried to cure him from deafness by pouring boiling oil in his ear). but that violence is introduced in the last like 15 pages of the book and i didn't know what to do with the info once i had it.
i think it seems like i disliked the book from all i've written, but i actually did enjoy it and would recommend it. it was an entertaining, fun read for me (i read it in 1.5 days) and really informative. just tough when a book starts strong and ends low, rather than the other way around.
The book follows (mainly) three characters who are connected through River Valley School for the Deaf. Charlie is a sophomore, just transferring to the school because she is doing so poorly at her hearing school. She got a cochlear implant as a child, but has never had true success with it and so doesn't have access to any full language since her parents are hearing and did not learn/teach her sign language. Austin is a junior and comes from "deaf royalty" - his entire maternal bloodline is deaf. They are very involved in the deaf community and he's one of the more popular boys in school. February is the head master of the boarding school, descended from 2 deaf parents. She lives with her wife, Mel, and her deaf mother on campus. The book is a bit of a coming of age story for Charlie, but also about a time of turmoil for the school, and a time of transition for Austin?? Also anarchy?? I guess one of my issues with the book is it was trying to do a bit too much because I can't even truly identify what the main plot line was. There were a lot of them, which in itself is not a problem; the problem is i don't know that any were adequately explored. Overall, though, I enjoyed the reading experience of this book and I was kept entertained. It was just at the end I kind of looked back and was like "wait but what about all this other stuff?"
Things I liked:
1. the cover/title - love a bold colorful cover
2. the audiobook - great listening experience. the author signed all the ASL dialogue in the book and recorded herself doing so. So on top of the audio we heard of what they were saying, we also heard her hand and mouth movements behind it. It was a great way to distinguish when something was being spoken aloud versus signed. the narrators did a good job too.
3. the learning - i learned so much from this book and had a lot of fun doing so. i have never read about deaf culture or history, but both are fascinating and left me wanting to read more books about this community. i appreciated the breaks between chapters with history lessons or signing lessons, information about deaf grammar, how they use their bodies fully to communicate, etc. really good stuff.
4. the plot lines sort of? for the most part, i was very intrigued by all the plot lines. february's mom dying and her having difficulties in her marriage, wanting someone else. the school closing down. austin's baby sister being hearing, but then actually being deaf and his parents wanting to get her a cochlear implant. charlie major struggles from being language deprived for so long, her teenage angst, her terrible relationship with her mother, her battle with the cochlear implant/needing it removed/her parents wanting to try again. but then the end of the book resolved none of it. and it didn't feel like a non-resolution in a poetic way. it just kind of felt like tf? which brings me to:
Things I didn't like:
1. the resolution of nothing at the end of the book
2. the other plot lines - why was a vengeful ex-girlfriend (austin's ex, gabriella) included? it added nothing to story. the book also introduces kyle/"slash", an old flame of charlie's from hearing school. and he's suddenly an anarchist? and the book ends with them (austin, charlie, austin's roommate eliot, and slash's gang) going to blow up a cochlear implant factory? like i'm sorry, but that was so out of left field lol. it could have been cool i think? but with everything else the author was doing in the book, there was too much going on for this to be fleshed out enough.
3. random inclusion of black ASL history, but not an adequate exploration - charlie's roommate at deaf school (kayla) is black and at one point in the book, austin corrects kayla's sign language to a more "white" sign for a word. it causes a rift. but it felt forced and random. and once it was introduced, it felt like there wasn't enough attention given to it. so then it almost felt more tacked on. i understand why she wanted to include it, because it's very important. it just deserved more.
4. eliot and kayla were 2 of the more interesting characters and didn't get nearly enough page time. kayla, because of the above and eliot because he suffered religious violence (a pastor tried to cure him from deafness by pouring boiling oil in his ear). but that violence is introduced in the last like 15 pages of the book and i didn't know what to do with the info once i had it.
i think it seems like i disliked the book from all i've written, but i actually did enjoy it and would recommend it. it was an entertaining, fun read for me (i read it in 1.5 days) and really informative. just tough when a book starts strong and ends low, rather than the other way around.
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Not only was this book fantastic, but it taught me so much about the deaf community (specifically in America). I thought the excerpts about ASL sprinkled in throughout the book were a nice touch. The story was great, as were the characters, though I do wish we’d gotten more of Elliot. This genuinely inspired me to learn ASL. I did learn the alphabet a long time ago, but 1. I’ve forgotten some letters and 2. ASL is so much more intricate than spelling out words, which I knew before, this book enhances that point.
reflective
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
🥰