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A review by stopthesun
You're Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner
2.0
If you love art, then you'll love this book. If you're interested in or connected to the Deaf community, you might also be interested in this book.
From my limited understanding of Deaf culture (stemming from my language focus in college and my sister's deafness), You're Welcome, Universe does a great job of emulating and informing on the d/Deaf experience and culture without making it too obvious that you're being taught something. If you have never been exposed to Deaf culture before then at the very least, you'll learn a few minor things about it.
I have...mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the book was exactly what I was looking for and more. I mean, the main character is this refreshing mix of not-your-typical-YA-protagonist vibes. Julia is not just d/Deaf. She's Indian and has a great relationship with her two moms. The best part? Her race and family structure aren't even plot points; they just exist as part of Julia's life.
So why didn't I love this book? I wanted to love this book, I really really did. I've been looking for a YA book with a d/Deaf main character for years. But Julia was so...unlikable.
Julia spends almost the whole book judging people without knowing them and generally acting like no one else in the word matters. She repeatedly lies to her parents despite feeling mildly guilty, disses and defends YP in the same paragraph (also, never bothered to learn her name),, and hates on everyone who tries to be even a little friendly (except the art teacher who she still screws over anyway). Even when I wanted to be sympathetic because of the poor way some people treated her I still felt Julia acted unfairly.
Jordyn does suck though.
It wasn't until page 267 out of 293 that Julia stops to realize that she's been horrible to literally everyone and tries to make up for it.
From my limited understanding of Deaf culture (stemming from my language focus in college and my sister's deafness), You're Welcome, Universe does a great job of emulating and informing on the d/Deaf experience and culture without making it too obvious that you're being taught something. If you have never been exposed to Deaf culture before then at the very least, you'll learn a few minor things about it.
I have...mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the book was exactly what I was looking for and more. I mean, the main character is this refreshing mix of not-your-typical-YA-protagonist vibes. Julia is not just d/Deaf. She's Indian and has a great relationship with her two moms. The best part? Her race and family structure aren't even plot points; they just exist as part of Julia's life.
So why didn't I love this book? I wanted to love this book, I really really did. I've been looking for a YA book with a d/Deaf main character for years. But Julia was so...unlikable.
Julia spends almost the whole book judging people without knowing them and generally acting like no one else in the word matters. She repeatedly lies to her parents despite feeling mildly guilty, disses and defends YP in the same paragraph (also, never bothered to learn her name),
Spoiler
makes out with her ex-best friend's boyfriend just to...just to what? make her feel bad?Jordyn does suck though.
It wasn't until page 267 out of 293 that Julia stops to realize that she's been horrible to literally everyone and tries to make up for it.