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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
i fear its one of the best books i read this year. loved it sOoooo much.
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
sad
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
This book got me out of a reading slump! I really loved it. Super easy to get into, the characters felt very real and you instantly start rooting for them. Some of the plot points were predictable but I liked how they ended up being handled and at times are left ambiguous. I learned a lot about Deaf culture and the Deaf community, and I'm grateful for that. Overall a wonderful read.
Informative literary fiction about deaf and HOH culture. Was cool in the audio who they would have the sound of signing happening when there was signing in the book. Also provided thoughtful questions and prompts about ASL, BASL, and the erasure of deaf culture.
This book is incredible - great storytelling, great writing, pacing, character, depth. Educational too, yes, and real-world inspiring, but as a compliment to the story arc. I strongly recommend for everyone!
Blech I so rarely return Audible titles but I couldn’t get manage much more than 2 hours of this book.
Back in the day I loved Switched at Birth (the show) and was eager to learn more about deaf culture, but this book fell extremely flat for me. It’s just so twee and YA - the main character is named FEBRUARY for goodness sake, what kind of trifling Tumblr nonsense is that - in the sense that it’s a very literal novel that hand-holds you through everything. “The character did this. Then she did that.”
Not a good book if you’re over the age of 16.
Back in the day I loved Switched at Birth (the show) and was eager to learn more about deaf culture, but this book fell extremely flat for me. It’s just so twee and YA - the main character is named FEBRUARY for goodness sake, what kind of trifling Tumblr nonsense is that - in the sense that it’s a very literal novel that hand-holds you through everything. “The character did this. Then she did that.”
Not a good book if you’re over the age of 16.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content
Minor: Biphobia, Bullying, Child death, Racism, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Police brutality
2.5 -3 stars?
i really liked the parts about the deaf community and bits of history and asl lessons, which is probably the best selling point of the book. it was a real eye opener and i'd recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about the deaf.
however, the story itself started off very confusing, then gradually became better, even immersive, then went downhill again with the last 30%. the love triangle between february-mel-wander seemed so unnecessary and chaotic and added absolutely nothing to the book. february herself added nothing to the book tbh and too much time was wasted on her personal problems that didn't even have anything to do with the deaf community. we need more of the students' povs!
the dynamic between charlie-austin-slash was...messy? maybe the boys were supposed to represent charlie's desires (the golden child of the deaf community; the anarchist movement/ longing for freedom/ individualism) but even if that was the case, it had been done poorly. the synopsis indicated that austin was one of the focuses of the story so imagine my confusion when he was portrayed as merely one of charlie's love interests?! i think the author intended to write both a coming-of-age book and an educational one but the former aspect certainly wasn't executed well.
i really liked the parts about the deaf community and bits of history and asl lessons, which is probably the best selling point of the book. it was a real eye opener and i'd recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about the deaf.
however, the story itself started off very confusing, then gradually became better, even immersive, then went downhill again with the last 30%. the love triangle between february-mel-wander seemed so unnecessary and chaotic and added absolutely nothing to the book. february herself added nothing to the book tbh and too much time was wasted on her personal problems that didn't even have anything to do with the deaf community. we need more of the students' povs!
the dynamic between charlie-austin-slash was...messy? maybe the boys were supposed to represent charlie's desires (the golden child of the deaf community; the anarchist movement/ longing for freedom/ individualism) but even if that was the case, it had been done poorly. the synopsis indicated that austin was one of the focuses of the story so imagine my confusion when he was portrayed as merely one of charlie's love interests?! i think the author intended to write both a coming-of-age book and an educational one but the former aspect certainly wasn't executed well.
Spoiler
what i disliked the most was the ending. i was soooooooo puzzled when the author's note came on because i couldn't believe she wrote THAT to end the book. it was so stupid and resolved absolutely NO problems occured, offering almost nothing more compared to the beginning, not charlie's potential CI, not austin's family, not even feb's relationtionships and especially not the future of the entire fucking school itself. the inclusion of the bomb recipe and the details of all the protests also irked me so much??? when this is a book aimed at teens??? those left such a bad taste in my mouth long after finishing that it totally distracted me from the good things the book had to offer.
adventurous
informative
reflective
fast-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
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character