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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Make yourself the best person you can be. People will be influenced by your example.”
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I listened to the audiobook and loved it! I am unable to locate the audiobook for the second installment an am not sure I can wait to see if one comes out because I am so curious to see what is next for Mary and the island.
informative
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
Papa signs. "We can't hide from our ancestors' misdeeds."
I interrupt, "But we can make our own choices now."
This middle grade book talks of forgiveness (of ourselves and others), not judging others, leading by example, family, courage... there is a lot to take away from this one. I'm excited to talk to our middle school book club about this one tomorrow.
I interrupt, "But we can make our own choices now."
This middle grade book talks of forgiveness (of ourselves and others), not judging others, leading by example, family, courage... there is a lot to take away from this one. I'm excited to talk to our middle school book club about this one tomorrow.
Mary lives on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in the year 1805. She is deaf, so is her father, and so are many others in her village, going back to her deaf great great grandfather, who came from England. Mary loves her life and feels proud of this lineage. Mary’s family is living with the grief from the premature loss of her brother George. There is conflict among the American settlers and the native Wampanoag. Life is upended when a mainland scientist arrives and takes Mary as a “live specimen” and studies her deafness, looking for a solution to this problem of human imperfection. The adventure greatly increases after that and the solution is satisfying. Read the author’s notes before you begin for fascinating information about deaf history, American Sign Language, the Wampanoag and natives on Martha’s Vineyard and more. Most fascinating was how LeZote, deaf herself, differentiates between sign and spoken language.
I'm always wary when I got to read a children's books because, while I still really relate to YA and teen books, I always think I'll have a hard time connecting to children's stories. This was not the case at all! The book started off a little slow and I was thiiiiiiiis close to dropping it but I went back and read what the story is actually about and saw that the main character becomes an "experiment" (I'm pretty sure that is not a spoiler, it's in the synopsis). I'm glad I ended up sticking it out because the book turned out to be quite good (if a little simple for an older reader) and shared a lot of information about deaf culture and the history of Martha's Vineyard.
Parts of this story kept me on the edge of my seat!!!
Mary is a young Deaf girl living in the town of Chilmark on Martha’s Vineyard in the early 19th century. She is living with guilt thinking that her brother’s death is her fault.
A young man comes to her town to study why there is such a large number of Deaf residents on the island, but makes his disdain for them very clear. He seems mostly harmless at first, but this turns out to not be the case at all.
It was interesting to read the backstory about the residents of Martha’s Vineyard and the origins of there being so many Deaf residents. There was also a side plot about a Wampanoag man (and his family) who works for Mary’s father, but the family was very minimally mentioned throughout the story.
Mary is a young Deaf girl living in the town of Chilmark on Martha’s Vineyard in the early 19th century. She is living with guilt thinking that her brother’s death is her fault.
A young man comes to her town to study why there is such a large number of Deaf residents on the island, but makes his disdain for them very clear. He seems mostly harmless at first, but this turns out to not be the case at all.
It was interesting to read the backstory about the residents of Martha’s Vineyard and the origins of there being so many Deaf residents. There was also a side plot about a Wampanoag man (and his family) who works for Mary’s father, but the family was very minimally mentioned throughout the story.