rikievans's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-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
4.5
What an amazing glimpse inside deaf community and deaf culture! I had absolutely no idea that implants were sent out likely to fail and that there was cover-up associated with their failure to work.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Dementia
good_names_dont_exist's review
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death of parent, Dementia, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Drug use
Minor: Homophobia and Vomit
ashton_n's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I was hooked from the first chapter. I loved the chapters with information on Deaf Culture, the history of Anarchism, and of course our favorite girl, Charlie.
Favorite Quote: “This is not your fault; this is the way it always has been; there is nothing any of us can do; I love you so much for trying”
Favorite Quote: “This is not your fault; this is the way it always has been; there is nothing any of us can do; I love you so much for trying”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Child abuse
Minor: Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Body horror, Alcohol, Dementia, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
shirarweiss's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Medical content, Car accident, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Ableism, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry
signeskov's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-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? No
4.25
A super insightful and important coming-of-age novel that presents an intimate and diverse experience(s) of deafness within the walls of an imaginary school for the deaf in southern Ohio. For those of us who have only ever been part of the hearing world, the novel provides a multitude of nuances of what being deaf has meant in North America then, now - and how the community risks further erosion in the future due to new technologies and unequal power relations between the hearing and deaf worlds. A nice read for anyone craving a coming-of-age teenage story with a twist of anarchy and who wants to learn something new.
Also: make sure to read this in a print format! The book includes many wonderful illustrations of ASL that you can practice and learn from as you read. I imagine this works for a much better reading experience in a print than audio book format.
(NB: I chose this book originally as part of the 2023 StoryGraph genre challenge to read a novel with disability rep - though, as it is also apparent from the book, deafness may or may not be a disability depending on the deaf individual you ask and their own lived experience. For now, though, given the thorough injustices experienced by deaf children and adults alike in societies still structured around the presumption of hearing, I believe this novel still qualifies as a relevant selection for the challenge)
Also: make sure to read this in a print format! The book includes many wonderful illustrations of ASL that you can practice and learn from as you read. I imagine this works for a much better reading experience in a print than audio book format.
(NB: I chose this book originally as part of the 2023 StoryGraph genre challenge to read a novel with disability rep - though, as it is also apparent from the book, deafness may or may not be a disability depending on the deaf individual you ask and their own lived experience. For now, though, given the thorough injustices experienced by deaf children and adults alike in societies still structured around the presumption of hearing, I believe this novel still qualifies as a relevant selection for the challenge)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Car accident, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Dementia, Hate crime, Medical trauma, and Racism
Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, and Religious bigotry
tree_swallow_in_flight's review
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book follows three characters at a Deaf boarding school in Ohio, all having come to Deaf culture from a different perspective: The CODA headmistress, February; the popular multi-generational Deaf student Austin; and the new transfer student, Charlie, who's been struggling with an ineffective cochlear implant in mainstream school her whole life. Some main themes of the book are the effect of isolation from their language and community on Deaf kids, the threats to the Deaf culture, and the contrasting opinions on cochlear implants.
(Disclaimer: I as a hearing person cannot speak from experience regarding the representation in this book, but given the author and illustrator are both Deaf, I think it's safe to say there was care and authenticity put into it)
I can't quite pinpoint how I feel about this book. It was absolutely worth the read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's curious about the Deaf community. It finally pushed me to learn the ASL alphabet. It captured my attention and I devoured it in a matter of days. And yet, there were aspects of the storytelling that didn't quite click for me.
So, let's do some +/-!
What I liked:
(Disclaimer: I as a hearing person cannot speak from experience regarding the representation in this book, but given the author and illustrator are both Deaf, I think it's safe to say there was care and authenticity put into it)
I can't quite pinpoint how I feel about this book. It was absolutely worth the read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's curious about the Deaf community. It finally pushed me to learn the ASL alphabet. It captured my attention and I devoured it in a matter of days. And yet, there were aspects of the storytelling that didn't quite click for me.
So, let's do some +/-!
What I liked:
- building suspense (through dramatic irony, slowly hinting toward reveals, etc.)
- nuanced discussions regarding raising/educating Deaf kids
- Charlie's conflicted relationship with her mother. This dynamic felt very realistic, allowing us to feel the repercussions of damaging decisions in the past and the humanity of both characters
- watching Charlie gain confidence in her Deafness
- pacing/plot held my attention for extended periods of time
What fell a little flat:
- - the many POV changes
- Personally, I found Charlie's story and character the most compelling and developed. While there were some interesting differences in perspective showcased by February's and Austin's points of view, ultimately I felt that having so many points of view left a lot of underdeveloped characters and relationships, and lots of side characters and backstories to keep track of. We even got random chapters from side characters, which felt unnecessary. If they have something important to add, can't that be revealed in dialogue?
- - the ending
- This might come down to personal preference, but the ending, to me, felt unresolved, like it was just abruptly cut off right after the climax. There were a couple of established conflicts where the outcomes were left hanging, and the climax itself did not feel like it actually resolved anything.
- - the romantic relationships
- I felt like we only ever saw the surface level of romantic relationships, and the moments where we got to witness the characters actually connecting were rare.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Dementia, Death of parent, and Child abuse
jes312's review
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Ableism
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Cursing
martachbc's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Bullying, Car accident, and Ableism
analenegrace's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
As a disabled person, one of my big endeavors for 2023 is to read more disability-centered books and True Biz came highly recommended. The first few chapters were hard to get into, but once I got sucked into the story, it felt impossible to put down.
Charlie as a character was very interesting and her family life tells an important story of Deaf experiences in the United States today. Juxtaposing her with Austin allowed me, as the reader, to see the two sides to Deaf life and the challenges of each.
I'm not sure where I thought the book would end, but it wasn't that in a very good way. The story ramped up in a believable way, making it a very good read.
My first criticism lies in the way Austin's ex is written; she's such a flat character, seemingly only there to make Charlie seem cooler and better. My other criticism of this is its advertisement as LGBTQIA+; while the headmistress is a lesbian, the story is only about her a little bit, and the overarching story is about Charlie and Austin, a straight couple.
Charlie as a character was very interesting and her family life tells an important story of Deaf experiences in the United States today. Juxtaposing her with Austin allowed me, as the reader, to see the two sides to Deaf life and the challenges of each.
I'm not sure where I thought the book would end, but it wasn't that in a very good way. The story ramped up in a believable way, making it a very good read.
My first criticism lies in the way Austin's ex is written; she's such a flat character, seemingly only there to make Charlie seem cooler and better. My other criticism of this is its advertisement as LGBTQIA+; while the headmistress is a lesbian, the story is only about her a little bit, and the overarching story is about Charlie and Austin, a straight couple.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting
autihd_elno's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Death of parent, Drug use, and Dementia
To varying degrees, the ableist points of view each POV character encounters from people or social structures/institutions in their lives are addressed as part of the story. I would say this is the most pronounced in the story of Charlie. As the Deaf girl who has never met another Deaf person prior to the start of the book's story, she does, unsurprisingly, interact with people in her life who have quite ableist attitudes regarding her being Deaf and the idea of her attending a school for the Deaf. It is also a relevant theme in the story line of Austin, the Deaf character whose baby sister is born hearing, as his story line grapples in part with the differences he sees in how the birth of a hearing baby is received versus the birth of a Deaf baby. There are also brief descriptions regarding