Give Me a Sign, written by Anna Sortino is a young adult novel with elements of romance throughout the book. The book details a 17, soon-to-be 18-year-old journey of identity through her hearing loss disability. However, as Lilah takes on a job at a deaf and blind summer camp, she learns more about who she is between the expectations of the world and the deaf community. Yet, during her duration of the summer camp as a counselor, Lilah also comes across the second protagonist, Issac who helps her adjust better to the camp while also impacting her heart. Through a summer filled with fun, romance, and tears, Lilah understands more about who she is as a person. I rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars because it helps give the audience a new perspective on how people in real life with hearing loss may face the world, hopefully opening their eyes more to the deaf community. Sortiono carefully includes the struggles Lilah faces with hearing loss on a daily basis by implementing how she perceives the world in her shoes. The struggles Lilah faces make her doubt about who she is as a person; Lilah has partial hearing loss, so she faces an identity crisis of whether she fits more in the deaf world or the non-deaf world. Sortiono inclusion of Lilah’s summer fling further enhances the book's fluidity; I really recommend this book if romance is the genre you prefer. Although this book taught great lessons, I believe if more plot twists were included it would have made the book even better. However, overall, I think this book is a great read for readers who like romance while learning more about a person’s experience with hearing loss.
About This Book
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 sure: Lilah wanted change, and things here are certainly different than what she’s used to.
In her sweet and swoony debut, Anna Sortino delivers a poignant coming-of-age story and a revelatory exploration of Deaf culture, its vastness, and its beautiful complexities.
