Book review: Give Me a Sign

I was scrolling through NetGalley and spotted this cover. Wait, are they signing?! Pulling me into the synopsis and sure enough, it was a book with Deaf characters and about Deaf culture! Since there are so few books out there with Deaf characters, I get really excited when I see a new one! Even more so, I saw this was an OwnVoices (Deaf author) so I had higher expectations for this book.

Synopsis:

Jenny Han meets CODA in this big-hearted YA debut about first love and Deaf pride at a summer camp.

Lilah is stuck in the middle. At least, that’s what having a hearing loss seems like sometimes—when you don’t feel “deaf enough” to identify as Deaf or hearing enough to meet the world’s expectations. But this summer, Lilah is ready for a change.

When Lilah becomes a counselor at a summer camp for the deaf and blind, her plan is to brush up on her ASL. Once there, she also finds a community. There are cute British lifeguards who break hearts but not rules, a YouTuber who’s just a bit desperate for clout, the campers Lilah’s responsible for (and overwhelmed by)—and then there’s Isaac, the dreamy Deaf counselor who volunteers to help Lilah with her signing.

Romance was never on the agenda, and Lilah’s not positive Isaac likes her that way. But all signs seem to point to love. Unless she’s reading them wrong? One thing’s for Lilah wanted change, and things here . . . they're certainly different than what she’s used to.

Review:

I absolutely LOVED it! Amazing YA debut from Anna Sortino coming out on July 11th. The book covered a wide spectrum of Deaf identities that exist in the Deaf community. The main character, Lilah and I do not have the same background but I understood the frustration of feeling stuck in between both worlds (hearing and deaf). I could relate to Lilah’s journey of finding her identity.

Anna Sortino did an amazing job of explaining a lot about the Deaf community without being too dry. She educates us about the communication (ASL vs voice), the cochlear implants controversy, hearing aids, ableism, and many more. This book is a perfect example of no ‘one-size-fits-all’ in the Deaf community.

I’m so envious of the teens today to have this kind book, I wish I had this when I was 13 years old! I also never attended a summer camp for the Deaf, so I may not understand the nostalgia of a summer camp. However, it did bring back the feelings I experience of being immersed into the Deaf world for the first time at college when was 18 years old (Lilah is 17). It stirred up many memories for me!

Towards the end of the book, there was an incident that really made me mad (you’ll know when you read it!). I can’t relate to that particular situation but I can understand the frustration of not being ‘heard’. This part was triggering but I’m glad that the author included this as it is reality for many Deaf people.

I can’t say enough how much I loved this book. I plan to run out on pub day to get an actual physical copy. I’m going to recommend this book non stop! Be sure to put this on your summer TBR list!