[ book review ] Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino

Book: Give Me a Sign

Author: Anna Sortino

Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance.

Format: Digital.

Was it an ARC or a gifted copy? Yes.

Release date: July 11th, 2023

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.

Content Warnings: violence, ableism (external and internalized), prejudice, police brutality, alcohol, underage drinking, bullying, injury, sexual harassment, hearing person using ASL for clout.

RATING: 5 stars

REVIEW:

The differences and clear lines between the hearing world and the Deaf world are very stark in this book (and in reality). It was nice to read about this immersion into Deaf culture and how, even in your own community, it can be hard to accept your identity.

The supermarket incident was hard to read, and the knowledge that it’s a situation (and misunderstanding) that happens all the time didn’t make it any less terrifying.

One thing I loved is the fact that almost the entire cast was disabled, and I think it’s great that we have this type of story in a young adult book, both for the Deaf kids who’ll see themselves represented and for the hearing ones that will start to have a better understanding of what life is like for other people.

Because of my own anxiety (and nightmare past experience as a summer camp counselor), I was panicking and tearing up every time Lilah fell behind with ASL, or made a mistake as a counselor. It had me unintentionally on edge since the start of the book.

Isaac was a sweetheart, but he frustrated me a little bit. Despite the language barrier, he still could have found ways to emotionally communicate a little better with Lilah. But in a way, I also understand him so I can’t blame him too much for that. I loved how their relationship developed and how they kept talking to each other after the end, too.

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