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A review by papertraildiary
You're Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner
5.0
Looooved this! From my review at The Paper Trail Diary:
I feel like this book is saying to me “You’re Welcome for the Book Hangover, Jessica.” Julia is deaf, Indian-American, has two deaf moms, and yet none of those qualifiers to who she is equal to what the story is about, which I really admired. She is who she is, and her story isn’t about being an outsider in any of those ways – it’s about how she has a hard time making friends, has some anger issues, and has trouble expressing herself without being contained. When she covers up slang about her supposed best friend on the wall of their school, that friend snitches on her, leading her to get expelled. She transfers to a school where she’s the only deaf person – people definitely do not know how to act around her – which means she’s more eager than ever to claim space of her own through her art. But soon someone starts adding to her art – not tagging over it, but actually making it better – leaving Julia angry, confused and paranoid. Instead of freaking out and going dark for a while, she takes on the challenge to her art and identity.
Julia’s a strong character, and I really enjoyed reading her story. I liked reading about how people spoke to her and how she reacted to them. She often wanted people to adjust for her, rather than her adjust for them, which I thought was a fair thought, especially for a teenager. I also loved reading about her friendship that she slowly forms with another girl who she only calls Yoga Pants. This book has a lot of colour and character, and I will highly recommend it to anyone, especially those who read mostly YA and are looking for something fresh and vibrant.
I feel like this book is saying to me “You’re Welcome for the Book Hangover, Jessica.” Julia is deaf, Indian-American, has two deaf moms, and yet none of those qualifiers to who she is equal to what the story is about, which I really admired. She is who she is, and her story isn’t about being an outsider in any of those ways – it’s about how she has a hard time making friends, has some anger issues, and has trouble expressing herself without being contained. When she covers up slang about her supposed best friend on the wall of their school, that friend snitches on her, leading her to get expelled. She transfers to a school where she’s the only deaf person – people definitely do not know how to act around her – which means she’s more eager than ever to claim space of her own through her art. But soon someone starts adding to her art – not tagging over it, but actually making it better – leaving Julia angry, confused and paranoid. Instead of freaking out and going dark for a while, she takes on the challenge to her art and identity.
Julia’s a strong character, and I really enjoyed reading her story. I liked reading about how people spoke to her and how she reacted to them. She often wanted people to adjust for her, rather than her adjust for them, which I thought was a fair thought, especially for a teenager. I also loved reading about her friendship that she slowly forms with another girl who she only calls Yoga Pants. This book has a lot of colour and character, and I will highly recommend it to anyone, especially those who read mostly YA and are looking for something fresh and vibrant.