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bookishmillennial's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Premise:
Lilah, hard of hearing 17-year-old, goes to Gray Wolf Camp, a place that holds such beautiful memories for her, to train as a junior camp counselor. Lilah grew up attending this summer camp and feeling included and as if she belonged, so now she wants to provide that same experience for younger campers. She is not fluent in American Sign Language yet so is also using this as a chance to fully immerse herself in the language so she can improve. This is absolutely a slice-of-life teen fiction story with a little coming-of-age, a little romance and a lot of generous lived experience of deaf/blind/disabled folks.
What stood out to me front-and-center were the friendships and connections that formed over the summer, especially between Lilah and:
-Natasha, who starts off as sort of a hard ass on Lilah for not fully knowing ASL
-Mackenzie, who is not disabled but has a huge social media following for showing off her ASL skills
-Isaac, her love interest, who graciously and patiently helps Lilah as she stumbles with ASL
-Phoebe, a teenage low-vision camper who may be interested in training as a junior counselor next year
-Ethan & Simone, her sort-of mentors at camp & senior camp counselors
-Oliver, a British lifeguard who rightly so makes fun of Americans lol
-Blake, one of Lilah's younger campers who has a cochlear implant & has never learned ASL
This book has a fantastic cast of characters, and even all of the ones that didn't particularly get too close to interact TOO much with Lilah were so much fun! Found family is one of my favorite tropes because of characters like these.
Though I adored this book and felt my heart warming over some tender moments, Anna also integrated ableist situations throughout the story, both by kids at camp, and by "hearies" outside of the camp environment. I cringed so hard at some of the ableist comments that others made to Lilah and her friends, in multiple situations, whether it was at a benefits/charity event for their camp (one of the main conflicts in the book is the fact that their funding has run out and they need more to keep this camp running in the future - it is cost-free to be accessible for all attendees!), at the grocery store, or at school. Reading about these instances reaffirmed the need to make our world more accessible in all aspects. I loved the author's note at the very end, and I hope to see (and seek out) more and more disabled representation in books.
representation: deaf, low-vision, hard-of-hearing, Black, Latine, queer
cw: ableism, oralism, police brutality/aggression
find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial
Premise:
Lilah, hard of hearing 17-year-old, goes to Gray Wolf Camp, a place that holds such beautiful memories for her, to train as a junior camp counselor. Lilah grew up attending this summer camp and feeling included and as if she belonged, so now she wants to provide that same experience for younger campers. She is not fluent in American Sign Language yet so is also using this as a chance to fully immerse herself in the language so she can improve. This is absolutely a slice-of-life teen fiction story with a little coming-of-age, a little romance and a lot of generous lived experience of deaf/blind/disabled folks.
What stood out to me front-and-center were the friendships and connections that formed over the summer, especially between Lilah and:
-Natasha, who starts off as sort of a hard ass on Lilah for not fully knowing ASL
-Mackenzie, who is not disabled but has a huge social media following for showing off her ASL skills
-Isaac, her love interest, who graciously and patiently helps Lilah as she stumbles with ASL
-Phoebe, a teenage low-vision camper who may be interested in training as a junior counselor next year
-Ethan & Simone, her sort-of mentors at camp & senior camp counselors
-Oliver, a British lifeguard who rightly so makes fun of Americans lol
-Blake, one of Lilah's younger campers who has a cochlear implant & has never learned ASL
This book has a fantastic cast of characters, and even all of the ones that didn't particularly get too close to interact TOO much with Lilah were so much fun! Found family is one of my favorite tropes because of characters like these.
Though I adored this book and felt my heart warming over some tender moments, Anna also integrated ableist situations throughout the story, both by kids at camp, and by "hearies" outside of the camp environment. I cringed so hard at some of the ableist comments that others made to Lilah and her friends, in multiple situations, whether it was at a benefits/charity event for their camp (one of the main conflicts in the book is the fact that their funding has run out and they need more to keep this camp running in the future - it is cost-free to be accessible for all attendees!), at the grocery store, or at school. Reading about these instances reaffirmed the need to make our world more accessible in all aspects. I loved the author's note at the very end, and I hope to see (and seek out) more and more disabled representation in books.
representation: deaf, low-vision, hard-of-hearing, Black, Latine, queer
cw: ableism, oralism, police brutality/aggression
find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Police brutality, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcohol
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