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A review by lattelibrarian
Set Me Free by Ann Clare LeZotte
4.0
"What kind of teacher will I make if I can't get through to my first pupil? What kind of person would I be if I gave up on her now? I think of her reduced state... Would I be any different in the same circumstances? The answer frightens me. Ladybird frightens me. She is my failure laid bare before me."
Three years after being kidnapped as a live specimen, Mary is still trying to regain her sense of adventure on Martha's Vineyard. Struggling to find a meaningful place on her island, she cannot help but to think of other marginalized communities, now knowing that she herself is part of a community that is considered marginalized. When she hears word of a young girl on the mainland who has been locked away, unable to speak but trying to communicate with odd vocalizations and clicks, Mary realizes that this girl might be deaf like her but with none of the community or resources.
Against her parents' wishes, she travels back to Boston to teach this young girl sign language so that she may escape her "savage" ways. There, she realizes that this girl might not be deaf, and may in fact be a victim of something horrible and secretive. But what?
Ann Clare LeZotte has a mastery of telling stories, and this book felt more mature in its writing than the first in this duology--a sign of skill not only in continuous growth for the author, but in showing Mary's growth and maturity as a young woman from eleven to fourteen years old. The ways in which LeZotte has Mary unravel the mystery of Ladybird is so resourceful and logical, and allows us readers to try to understand just what is going on without giving too much away. While the first in this series focuses largely on deaf history and trauma, this book offers joy and resilience. Not only that, but LeZotte also tackles attitudes towards indigenous and native communities during the time, giving Mary a truly developed sense of her world, not to mention empathy for fellow (purposely) misunderstood communities.
Three years after being kidnapped as a live specimen, Mary is still trying to regain her sense of adventure on Martha's Vineyard. Struggling to find a meaningful place on her island, she cannot help but to think of other marginalized communities, now knowing that she herself is part of a community that is considered marginalized. When she hears word of a young girl on the mainland who has been locked away, unable to speak but trying to communicate with odd vocalizations and clicks, Mary realizes that this girl might be deaf like her but with none of the community or resources.
Against her parents' wishes, she travels back to Boston to teach this young girl sign language so that she may escape her "savage" ways. There, she realizes that this girl might not be deaf, and may in fact be a victim of something horrible and secretive. But what?
Ann Clare LeZotte has a mastery of telling stories, and this book felt more mature in its writing than the first in this duology--a sign of skill not only in continuous growth for the author, but in showing Mary's growth and maturity as a young woman from eleven to fourteen years old. The ways in which LeZotte has Mary unravel the mystery of Ladybird is so resourceful and logical, and allows us readers to try to understand just what is going on without giving too much away. While the first in this series focuses largely on deaf history and trauma, this book offers joy and resilience. Not only that, but LeZotte also tackles attitudes towards indigenous and native communities during the time, giving Mary a truly developed sense of her world, not to mention empathy for fellow (purposely) misunderstood communities.