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signeskov's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Also: make sure to read this in a print format! The book includes many wonderful illustrations of ASL that you can practice and learn from as you read. I imagine this works for a much better reading experience in a print than audio book format.
(NB: I chose this book originally as part of the 2023 StoryGraph genre challenge to read a novel with disability rep - though, as it is also apparent from the book, deafness may or may not be a disability depending on the deaf individual you ask and their own lived experience. For now, though, given the thorough injustices experienced by deaf children and adults alike in societies still structured around the presumption of hearing, I believe this novel still qualifies as a relevant selection for the challenge)
Graphic: Ableism, Car accident, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Dementia, Hate crime, Medical trauma, and Racism
Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, and Religious bigotry
jialianyang's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Violence, Ableism, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, and Misogyny
astridhawk's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Dementia, and Drug use
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Car accident, Child abuse, and Hate crime
martinatan's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This novel truly feels like a love letter to the Deaf community and disabled activists. The author does a wonderful job of incorporating different archetypes of Deaf experience that dispel any thoughts of monolith from Deaf ideologies. After reading this, I am more curious about other intersectional identities that were not covered related to race, gender, religion, and other disability.
The formatting of dialogue and illustrative chapter titles speak to the spirit of the term “deaf gain” as opposed to “hearing loss”—these visual and spatial tidbits enhance Nović’s strong artistic voice. Highly recommend to anyone seeking an earnest and important coming-of-age story.
Moderate: Medical content, Ableism, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Racism, Car accident, Drug use, Dementia, and Alcohol
Minor: Grief, Hate crime, Confinement, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Vomit, Classism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Abandonment
thehmkane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I picked this up at the recommendation of Deaf, deaf, and hearing friends, but the Deaf endorsement meant the most to me. I'm pretty savvy to a lot of the history, but I learned a lot from this book. I appreciated the diversity within the school, and the diversity of perspectives presented. It didn't shy away from depicting difficult situations and complex dynamics.
An important contribution to the canon. Now can we get more Deaf books?
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Ableism, and Car accident
Moderate: Drug use, Bullying, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Homophobia, Classism, Racism, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Violence, Hate crime, and Genocide
Minor: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Forced institutionalization
cranewife's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Ableism, Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual content
lacey_wi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Dementia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment
cozyreadsandcoffee's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Dementia, Gore, Bullying, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Torture, Murder, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Grief, Toxic relationship, Child death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Drug use, Car accident, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Death, Racism, Violence, and Classism
linguaphile412's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Car accident, Death, Murder, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Gore
Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use
Minor: Sexual content