e-Audio, 09:24:05
Narrated by: Elizabeth Robbins
Release Date: July 11, 2023
Published by: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Read from: June 12-14, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: PRH App
TW: Ableism, Ableist Police Brutality
For Readers Interested In: Romance, YA, Disabilities (Hard of Hearing), ASL Sign Language, Summer CampJenny 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.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I had no idea what this book was about when I first saw the cover and it didn’t matter in the slightest lol I am not afraid to admit that I am someone who judges books by their covers. So when I find one that I love, I immediately decide I’m going to read it as fast as I can. And that’s exactly what I did with this one.
The main reason I wanted to read this was because my library system is getting ready for when we have a thing and I realized that we haven’t had much representation of disabilities. I thought this would be the perfect one. It DID have some moments where I felt like the author was just making things happen for the sake of telling us about it, but I still liked it. The things she wanted to tell us was important and needed to be said. It didn’t make me like it any less.
I definitely liked the characters too. It was strange to feel how much I related to her. I have been in the same position where I felt like I wasn’t enough of something and I wasn’t sure if I was enough in my identity. I still feel that way sometimes. This is a great coming of age story where she learns there’s always time to learn that there’s no wrong way to be in your identity. I didn’t know I needed to hear it until I did. I love stories that teach me something when I read them. It shows me that that book was something I needed at the time. And watching her go through her journey, although she’s almost 20 years younger than me, it helped me too.
The camp setting of this was so fun! I wanted to go to the camp lol I just thought it was fun the way she was learning and getting to know everyone. I liked the way she was trying new things to find herself while still having fun. And the romance?! Yes please! It was so cute watching them fall for each other while they play in the pool and the lake and teaching each other new things.
The narration of this was amazing too. Not only as an audio version, but also because of the way the book was written. The author tells you that it’s written like Lilah hears, so sometimes the words are missing. In the audio version you hear the muffled sounds that Lilah might hear. In the book it just blocks out the word. The irony is listening to the book and hearing the muffled sounds made it feel more real.
I hope we decide to use this in our library program. If nothing else it can show the teens how to be more inclusive and how to realize that being diverse means more than just race and ethnicity. We want to be inclusive to all and this book can help us see that.
Overall, I give this
