Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Strong Deaf by Lynn McElfresh

Strong Deaf by Lynn McElfresh
Publisher: Namelos
Publish Date: December 1, 2013
Pages:  130 pages
ISBN# 978-1608981267

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.




Jade is the only hearing person in her family.  Her siblings, parents and grandparents are deaf.  Her older sister lives at school during the week, just coming home on weekends and holidays.  Needless to say, Jade and her sister do NOT get along.

The story is told from both perspectives.  Jade's portion is in written English, while Marla's is in written ASL.  If you aren't familiar with ASL, it might take a bit of getting used to.  It's a little choppier.

It was fun to see things from the viewpoint of the hearing person being in the minority.  The two sisters bring up both sides of Audism - the view that being able to speak and hear is the best and anything else is stupid; the view that being deaf and signing is the best and anything else is stupid.  Audism isn't brought up specifically, but it's demonstrated very well.

Even though the two sisters are very bratty, I can see where it's very realistic.  They're 12 & 14 years old, they have difficulty communicating, they're teenagers!


No comments:

Post a Comment