bibielle's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
lhubler's review against another edition
4.0
This was an unexpected punch in the gut. Very urban and timely. The reader is propelled through the story and compelled to keep reading.
leigh_ann_15_deaf's review
3.0
Deaf reader reviewing books with deaf characters.
Written by a presumably hearing author, this novel features Tamika (Mik), who was deafened by meningitis at age five, and diagnosed with moderately severe hearing loss, or “halfway to sound.”
“She got by just fine when she kept her hearing aids turned on,” which isn’t often because the devices make her ears stick out and sound like the world is underwater.
I was confused by Mik's communication choices. She can write/type, speak, and sign, but there's not really any clear decision-making insofar as when she uses each of these. For example, during the in-class spelling bee, she writes on the chalkboard, but then will speak outside of class. Mik doesn't like that “She sounded twice as good as she thought she did, half as good as she thought she should," but I don't understand why she wouldn't be made to speak in class, especially when she hasn't got an interpreter or anything.
Without her hearing aids on, Mik is apparently so deaf she cannot hear the tv at full volume and puts her hand on the speaker before turning on her aids to hear the music, now ruined by the HA’s static, and can also now hear the outside night life ambience and NaNa’s snoring.
It's not until very, very far into the novel that I figure out why this is happening. Mik gets new hearing aids, which have the modern open tubes to allow her to continue to hear sounds within the range of her residual hearing, unlike the old molds which act as ear plugs. But I still feel a bit iffy about whether Mik would be not only totally deaf, but comfortably deaf, when her aids are blocking her ears. After all, she gets monthly ear infections that she attributes to the hearing aids, which indicates she isn't cleaning them as often as she should.
Mik doesn’t want to hear. She wants to choose when to block out the world because she finds power in it. This would work better with cochlear implants, but Mik doesn't qualify for them.
Let's speedrun a few points.
Things that are realistic:
-Mom and Mik sign together, mom stiffly and not able to understand half of Mik’s signs. Most families never learn to communicate effectively with their deaf member(s).
-Mik has a habit of signing something rude or sarcastic and then speaking something else. I used to do this often.
-Jae tells her she doesn’t sound “death,” and asks if it hurts to strain to hear, to which she responds no despite the infection paining her. As a kid, I would go to the ends of the earth to avoid being seen as the "deaf girl," so this tracks.
-Principal advocates for Mik to attend a special program, but mom says “regular” school is just fine for her. She wants her to get CIs and live a “normal” life.
-Her hearing aid batteries die. Griffin is one of the few authors who mention this, so kudos on that.
Things that are questionable:
-Mik is an artist who can live without hearing anything except guitars, apparently. This comes across as gimmicky, or else poorly worded by the author. Deaf people tend to really enjoy what sounds they can hear with residual hearing, with or without amplification. I know someone who puts their CIs on only for music or watching TV. But I don't know of anyone who eschews all sounds except for one instrument.
-Mik takes speech therapy at school. The therapist doesn’t always show up. This feels questionable in that Mik wasn't made to speak during the in-class spelling bee, as discussed earlier. The teacher would have been aware of Mik's speaking capabilities, and I have never been a class where I was allowed to write when others were made to speak.
-Maybe not questionable as much as it is confusing as a reader, but Griffin tends to type out all the dialog even when Mik, the POV character, doesn't understand it. For example, there's an announcement on the boat and Mik asks Fatima what he said, despite the reader being privy to this information.
-News channels have really accurate captioning, which is a bit weird. Maybe I don't watch enough news, but I've never seen any well-captioned channels--which is a big reason why I don't watch them.
Things that are unrealistic:
-While riding the same skateboard, she can hear Jimmi’s low rumble and flicks on her hearing aids. It’s always the love interest as an exception, eh? With her eyes closed she gets every word he says. The sound of the skateboard rolling across the pavement and the wind rushing isn't distracting at all?
-Mik’s mom calls instead of texting, and Mik crushes the receiver against her ear (with the ear-plug-mold?) to try and decipher the screams. A real deaf person would have raised the receiver to the mic on the hearing aid, which is behind the ear. She puts the phone on speaker and can suddenly hear every word clearly. But when Mom shows up and starts yelling, suddenly Mik can’t hear any of it due to the wind rushing against the aids—despite clearly hearing Jimmi while riding a skateboard?
-No mention of hearing / lipreading fatigue, but the school bell does “stab” her ears. Not much mention of lipreading in general. Fatigue is a pretty intrinsic experience for deaf people in mainstream settings, with or without aids, so it's pretty glaring that it's missing.
-In a brawl, Mik can still take the time to hear/speechread what people are saying, when she “glimpses” them.
Overall, Griffin showcases a lot of technical knowledge, but misses details that would bring the deaf experience to life.
This book is listed on my ranked list of books with deaf characters: https://slacowan.com/2023/01/14/ranked-deaf-characters-in-fiction/
This book is listed on my ranked list of books with deaf characters: https://slacowan.com/2023/01/14/ranked-deaf-characters-in-fiction/
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
2.0
I got about 3/4 of the way through, and though I know whatever the big action is will happen soon, I had to give up. It was far too outside my knowledge and scope of understanding or appreciation. However, anyone interested in a gritty, street-driven novel set in and around a housing project focused on youth, disabilities, and discrimination, this will certainly be a winner.
The star rating system is such a frustrating thing. I found personally this book not enjoyable, so it's a 2 star. But there are people I know who would love this and want more like it. The 2 stars are my subjective opinion entirely but don't reflect the potential. I give up :)
The star rating system is such a frustrating thing. I found personally this book not enjoyable, so it's a 2 star. But there are people I know who would love this and want more like it. The 2 stars are my subjective opinion entirely but don't reflect the potential. I give up :)
margaretann84's review
4.0
Would definitely be a good book for starting conversations about illegal immigration and the treatment of veterans in the USA.
monty_reads's review
2.0
I actually like one this more than my two-star rating indicates, but it just tries to do too much in its 150 pages. Set in inner-city New York, Griffin's book pinballs wildly from high school bullying to teens with hearing disabilities to illegal immigration to the treatment of our Iraq war vets to the redemptive power of art. It's well-intentioned, and I like the way it's structured (moving inexorably toward the moment when one of the main characters is hanged), but as lasting work of Young Adult Lit it just doesn't quite make the cut.
starnosedmole's review
2.0
I read this for a discussion group on YA books. It took me a while to get into this one, as it felt a bit preachy and too optimistic for my liking. Maybe it would be inspiring for younger teens who haven't found a social network they're comfortable with yet?
rmarten22's review against another edition
2.0
I had to read this book for my Book Cart Book Club which is an attempt to get Em, Ory, and I out of our reading comfort zone. This is not what I would have chosen normally and it was a trip. Overall, I thought it was a good story but a very poor execution. I haven’t read any of the author’s other books but from what I have read from reviews, this book was a disappointment. The characters were very unique and had strong personalities that developed throughout the story but we didn’t see very much background on their relationships. It was just assumed that Mik and Jimmi are already good friends but we don’t see that type of conversation or relationship. I think the book needed a stronger connection between the characters and between the characters and the reader. Immediately, I wasn’t connected to any of the characters because the book jumped immediately into the plot rather than give us a description of the character or any personality. Throughout the story, I didn’t have a clear picture of what Mik or Jimmi look like. I had a decent idea for Fatima but it was still hard to picture them. The book also struggled with basic grammar and punctuation. In the beginning, it was hard to follow and didn’t make sense. It improved as the story moved along but overall, it wasn’t strong writing. I gave this book a ⅖ because of the loss of story content. There was no clear conflict that caused the book to struggle and ultimately fail.
lizziehutchins's review against another edition
1.0
Seriously, what the heck was going on!?!
I'll admit I only read half the book, but in this case I felt like by doing so I had read the whole thing. No plot development, characters were ill-described, seemed like there were pages missing.
Definitely a one star.
I'll admit I only read half the book, but in this case I felt like by doing so I had read the whole thing. No plot development, characters were ill-described, seemed like there were pages missing.
Definitely a one star.