Thank you to Penguin for this ARC to read and review 2.5 Stars
I really, really, really, wanted to love this book. The disability representation was so fantastic and some of the best I've ever read in a book, however one dimensional characters, a lack of an engaging writing style, and poor depiction of BIPOC characters made it impossible to enjoy.
Lilah as well as just about every character in this book are very flat, there's nothing to them, no complexities, flaws, or even major character growth. The only information I was able to retain from Lilah is that she likes strawberry cheesecake jelly beans, is a little boy crazy, and isn't fluent in ASL. That's it. We don't get any other information about Lilah, her hopes, dreams, or even more about her.
There is a large cast of characters in this, it was difficult to keep track of who is who, or even their position in the camp. Many characters felt unnecessary to the plot, and it was hard to even discern the differences between them. If you gave me a list of every character mentioned, I wouldn't be able to tell you what they looked like, or defining characteristics of their personalities.
The "romance" lacked chemistry, coherent sense, and honestly felt incredibly awkward and forced. There is a semi love triangle at one point, and then it kinda gets dropped out of nowhere and the second "love interest" isn't really mentioned again. It didn't at all feel necessary to the story, and if anything just muddled what was going on. Isaac and Lilah had no chemistry, and truly their relationship went from zero to one hundred, with Lilah having an instant love crush. Much like many other characters, there was an inconsistency to Isaac's character motivations that made it difficult to discern what even was happening.
Maybe it was the first person writing style, but so much of the story involves telling rather then showing what is going on in the story. Over and over again, it just felt like the author was telling us what was going on instead of showing through actions, or better descriptive wording. At times it feels like the plot was lost in favor of depicting the trials and tribulations that the Deaf community experiences, but at a certain point it felt like the less of a romance and more of almost an autobiography of the author's' personal experiences.
My biggest nitpick when it comes to the depiction of race in books is if you can take one descriptor word away from the whole book (ex. Black, Latino, etc) and the character would read as white that is a problem. There is a huge difference between saying a character is a certain race, and actually coding them that way in the writing. (Huge missed opportunity to discuss race when the security guard incident happened!) I even flipped back to the the beginning to double check if it was in fact an all white cast, or if some of the characters were "supposed" to be BIPOC. Whenever this discussion comes up it's always a tricky subject, because often times people will say you should just be grateful for any representation.
I think my gut instinct when I finished reading was to rate it 5 stars, because getting this kind of disability rep in books is sadly still very rare. I learned so much from reading this, and have a better understanding of the Deaf experience. And while the book truly shone with how its depictions of what Lilah went through as well as the Deaf community, the other elements greatly overshadowed those bright spots. At the end of the day this isn't a book I would recommend for others, or even one that I could say I enjoyed.

Gahhhhhh! This book!!

⭐️Deaf/HOH representation throughout cast
⭐️Teen sleep-away summer camp vibes
⭐️First love, YA friends to more - lots of adorable awkwardness
⭐️Education about spectrum of deafness and deaf community and ASL
⭐️debut #ownvoices story

Quick, easy, heartfelt and charming read. Perfect for July with its summer camp setting and for Disability Pride month. Cute story, insight into deafness and deaf culture, bringing in some heavier topics that are handled well. I love True Biz and CODA and this story is tagged as CODA meets Jenny Han…yes, absolutely! Wonderful debut. Can’t wait to see what this author does next.

Thank you to Penguin Teen/Putnam for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

i’ve had a copy of this book for a while now actually. but unexpectedly this became my first read for disability pride, which was completely unplanned but very good timing. so yeah, i guess let’s talk about my personal draw to this book. i’m often very outspoken about being queer and disabled. and while i don’t talk about my disabilities often, they range from learning disabilities to chronic illness, along the spectrum. but i’m not hard of hearing (hoh) or deaf personally. my main draw to a book about a deaf and blind summer camp is, of course, because i am disabled, so i strive to read more stories centering disability, period. but also because my dad is actually hard of hearing.

it’s not actually something i’ve ever mentioned in any online book space, but it’s something in my personal life. he has some loss of hearing in his right ear that occurred in his early adulthood. and while he was fitted for a hearing aid, he actually chose not to wear it and hasn’t since well… at least my entire life. you have to speak to him on his “good side” otherwise he wont hear you and say “huh?” or “what”. he blasts music, tv, anything really. and you’ll often see him covering his ears in loud spaces. why am i talking about my dad, who probably wouldn’t consider himself deaf, when this book is about a teenage girl at a summer-camp for deaf and blind campers. well, because he honestly reminds me of lilah.

of course, they’re quite absolutely completely in everything else. but they share this common thread. and the way lilah interacts with the world, especially in the beginning of these events, it felt familiar to me. but also not, since well, i’ve got pretty damn good hearing myself. but seeing how lilah speaks to others, how she misses words. it gives me a bit better understanding of what my own parent might experience.

but anyways, genuinely enough about me. i think we understand that i was pretty excited to read this book. and i can say it was a delight. it obviously goes a bit heavy handed on the conversations surrounding the deaf community, and what makes someone qualify to label themselves as deaf. or the concept of learning from the deaf community if you want to learn sign. but genuinely, it was still nice to see lilah immerse herself. commit herself to try to learn the language of her community, even if she messes up in embarrassing ways. she learns and grows. she makes mistakes any person learning a new language does. but eventually she begins to hold her own, grow confident in her skills and it was lovely.

however, besides a few notable events (the tornado, the shopping scene), it really felt as though a majority of the book was pretty repetitive. i recognize it mimics the concept of the campers doing similar activities. hell, i get it. i worked at a specialized camp. i recognize that you do similar things. but i feel like we honestly didn’t get to see enough interactions with the other counselors besides isaac as much as i wish we did. i think we had the chance to see from such a lovely, diverse group of characters. each choosing to communicate in the world, in the deaf community in their own unique ways. we had glimpses, but i truly wish we learned more from them. i think that would’ve made me enjoy this a ton more.

overall though, this was truly a quick, interesting read that introduced me to a community i’ve always wanted more insight to. i’m excited to see where anna sortino goes in her sophomore novel, and i’ll definitely be following along closely.

3.5 stars

I haven't ever read any books centered around Deaf community and culture, and this was a really good look into such, from my limited knowledge on the subject. I was really immersed and came out of the book feeling much more educated on a subject that I've been interested in for a while. I love summer camp stories and the vibes of this one were really fun, and I enjoyed reading it for the most part.

However. I was really disappointed by the blatant irresponsibility of many of the counselors and the camp director. There's a scene in the book in which most of the counselors pack up, leave the camp, and go to hang out at a bar. Keep in mind that some of the counselors are underage, including the main character. The camp director allows minors to accompany the other counselors to the bar, where the minors are them allowed to drink. Then, the main character (a seventeen year old) is allocated to be the designated driver- without her glasses, at night, past the curfew on her license, with passengers who have all been drinking. This, to me, was absolutely not acceptable, and made more annoying since there are instances in the book where the main character is lectured about responsibility by the older counselors/director. :/

All in all, I might read this book again, but I'm not sure. My feelings are pretty mixed at this point.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review,

This book did such an excellent job of putting you in the main character's shoes and having you feel her frustration at times (and her joy at others). It was a beautiful book about finding community, learning what you want and how to advocate for yourself, and, of course, it had a veerrryy cute romance in it. As the author mentions in her author's note at the end, finding books with deaf characters is not common, especially books where they're the main characters, and this book is such a wonderful contribution to that small (but hopefully growing) pool!

I was thrilled to see another book with Deaf characters in a Deaf community. As a Deaf person, I absolutely loved Anna Sortino’s Give Me a Sign coming out on July 11th. An amazing YA debut with Own Voices about a summer camp for the Deaf. I could relate to many experiences that the main character, Lilah was facing or going through. Especially the struggle of being stuck in between the deaf and hearing worlds! Anna Sortino did an excellent job of educating the readers about the aspects of the Deaf community - the cochlear implants controversy, hearing aids, using voice/lipreading, ableism and many more. It clearly emphasis that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ for Deaf people. I loved this book so much - I will be recommending it for everyone to read! Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I had a suspicion that I would love this book when I saw the cover and read the synopsis, and boy howdy WAS I RIGHT. This book was amazing! Sortino does an incredible job of bringing us into Lilah's experience as a teenager with a hearing loss that isn't really accommodated by her family, her friends, or her school. Even things like riding in the car with friends, seeing a movie in the theater, or doing schoolwork are difficult when you only catch a fraction of the words around you; Lilah clarifies that her parents aren't understanding that the lack of access at school is why her grades are so bad, too. This is the perfect set-up for Lilah's journey to Camp Gray Wolf as a junior counselor. Overall, this book was such a joy. I'm going to look forward to recommending it to anyone with even a remote interest in romance and/or Deaf culture.

One of my new favorite books! I read this in a day and could not read it fast enough!

"Give Me a Sign" by Anna Sortino is a delightful YA debut that took me on a heartwarming journey back to the beloved nostalgia of summer camp. Lilah's experience of feeling caught in the middle—neither fully identifying as Deaf nor meeting society's expectations of being hearing—resonated deeply with the reader. Sortino skillfully intertwines the challenges faced by the Deaf community into Lilah's personal quest for self-discovery, letting go, and finding her voice.

The characters in "Give Me a Sign" shine with vibrant personalities that make them feel like lifelong friends. Each one brings a unique charm to the story, and I found myself easily connecting with their journeys. Sortino has crafted such distinct voices that I could likely identify the speaker of a random quote out of context—a testament to the author's ability to breathe life into her characters.

Nostalgia hits hard when reminiscing about summer camp experiences. While my camp didn't boast hot British lifeguards like Lilah's, we had our own laughs and shared conversations. The lifeguard scenes in the book brought a smile to my face, reminding me of the genuine and hilarious moments that occur in those cherished summer camp memories.

"Give Me a Sign" beautifully captures the spirit of summer camp, fostering a sense of community, growth, and the excitement of unexpected connections. It is a celebration of finding oneself amidst a backdrop of friendship, romance, and the power of embracing one's unique identity. Anna Sortino's debut novel is a delightful and engaging read that will leave you with a warm, nostalgic glow long after you've turned the last page.

<i> Thank you Penguin Teen and PRH Audio for providing me a digital, and ALC copy of this book. </i>

I really enjoyed this book about a teenager return to her Deaf summer camp to be a junior counselor after some years spent mainly in the hearing world. I learned a lot about Deaf culture and the variety of experiences people have within it. The writing felt genuine, which made sense since the author is part of the Deaf community. Disability rep is important--fitting that this book is releasing during Disability Pride Month on July 11/23. Thanks to NetGalley and the Penguin for the ARC! 4.5⭐

I love all books written about and involving Deaf community and cultures so I might be bias already. But I’m also picky. This book did a great job being informational about Deaf culture as well as bringing up the struggles of those who are hard of hearing. It is a wonderful book on identities and finding where you fit and owning your identity. It’s a great young adult summer camp romance that focuses mostly on the culture and less on romance, but it’s still on there. You hear about CODA, hard of hearing, Deaf, cochlear implants, hearing aids, Deaf kids of hearing parents, low and high support systems and more. This is a great book for those who want to learn more about the intricacies of identity in Deaf culture. The character development was perfect.

My thanks to out to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this ARC of "Give Me A Sign" in exchange for an honest review.
True enough, there's the sweetest of of slow-to-develop summer camp romances here. And there's also that eternal, always relevant story of teens struggling to identify and define who they are, how they view the world and how to somehow realize their potential to thrive in it.
"Give Me A Sign" does include all those universal tropes.... which also equally exist in the world of teens with hearing and sight disabilities. So these young people not only cope with those intense joys and anxieties that come with adolescence but the unique physical challenges they face as well.
17 year old Lilah, whose deafness is not total, has strived to find her place amid the hearing and deaf worlds, which she's always fallen in between. Determined to at last fully master ASL, she spends her summer as a junior counselor at a camp for deaf and blind kids and teens. Before long, she finds hersel ever so tentatively falling for senior counselor Isaac...(and vice versa.)
As a former summer camper-counselor myself, I loved seeing all the expected, traditional camp adventures unfold the same way they would in any summer camp.....some humorous, some heartwarming, some hurtful and even one terribly traumatic incident. Unlikely friendships develop, romance blossoms and disabilities don't stop anyone from from enjoying the most memorable time of their lives....and isn't that what summer's all about for everybody?
I don't want to leave out crediting author Anna Sortino for making this stay at Camp Grey Wolf not just an instructive, immersive view of deaf culture but a compelling read too. And for never forgetting those vital components to a teen's happy summer.......tug of war, forbidden nighttime lake swims, campfires, and uh.....what am I leaving out......I'll think of it eventually, I'm sure.....

Give Me a Sign is a sweet, important coming of age story about finding yourself and community. Lilah is hard of hearing and struggling to find her place in the Deaf community, until she returns to her childhood summer camp and is once again immersed in both the struggles and joys of being deaf. This was a great introduction to Deaf culture and explored a lot of important topics.

CW: ableism, deaf discrimination, police brutality

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers for an advance review copy of this book.

“Simone says, but her mouth curls into a small grin. ‘There’s nothing wrong with reading romance, especially during the summer. They’re fun.'”

Give me a Sign by Anna Sortino
Pub Date: July 11th, 2023
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟(4/5)
Spice: (0/5)

Review:

Lilah is finishing her junior year of her mainstream hearing high school. She is hard of hearing and goes to her annual audiologist appointment to find out her hearing is getting worse. She decides to spend the summer as a junior counselor at Camp Grey Wolf where she spend a summer as a camper a few years prior. Upon arrival at camp she meets the senior counselor crew and finds out that this could be camps last summer. Lilah spends her summer falling in love, learning ASL, and saving camp.

Over all this book was very sweet. There is some dark realities that Lilah faces about being deaf in a hearing world. I truly enjoyed this book especially the deaf representation.


If you like:
- Deaf representation
- Teen summer romance
- Summer Camp

QOTD: What is your favorite campfire song?

Thank you to Net Galley and G.P Putnam’s Sons/Penguin Random House for proving me with an eARC of this novel.

Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino (@annaksortino)

“Because that’s just it—I’ve been deaf since birth, as simple as that. And the older I get, the more my hearing loss will become a joke to some people, the way the elderly are ridiculed for needing hearing aids. I need to take pride in my identity, in whatever way I choose to share it with the world.”

🏕️✌🏼⚾️💘🦻🏼

FEATURING:
🦻🏼a Deaf protagonist learning to be proud of who she is
⚾️ a very cute and sporty Deaf love interest who plays baseball
🏕️a summer camp setting - my favorite!!
💕a lovable side cast of diverse Blind and Deaf counselors and campers
🏊🏼‍♂️adorable gay British lifeguards
👏🏼a wonderful look into Deaf culture and Deaf pride

Another summer camp story! Yay! They are some of my favorites to read this time of year. ⛺️

Give Me a Sign was so cute - but also incredibly powerful. Anna Sortino, a Deaf author, really dove into the nuances of the Deaf experience and it was really eye-opening for a hearing person like myself. 🙌🏻

The main character, Lilah, has hearing parents and never really got the opportunity to learn ASL. I’m learning that this is a very common experience for Deaf children born to hearing parents. She feels too Deaf when she is around the hearing, and not Deaf enough when she is around the Deaf community. This story also touches on the problems with hearing folks who aim to teach (and build a following/make a profit off of) ASL. Seeing Lilah become proud of her identities as a Deaf person was wonderful, and I really enjoyed the relationship and differences between herself and her younger brother, who is also Deaf. 👋🏻

One of the most powerful scenes in Give Me a Sign is when Lilah and Isaac end up in a violent altercation due to not being able to hear store clerks and being accused of shoplifting. TW, this scene does involve police brutality, and Isaac, who is Latino, is on the receiving end. There are also many instances of people saying they will pray for the Deaf and Blind counselors, believing they are faking being Deaf because they don’t “look” or “sound” Deaf, and generally being ableist as all hell to them. 😤

There is very little Deaf representation in media, and the world of books is no different, and this book is so important!

In an interview by Anna Sortino, she recommends a few other books featuring Deaf main characters, and I will definitely be giving them a read! They are:

📕Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
📗The Loudest Silence by Sydney Langford (Summer 2024)
📘On the Bright Side also by Anna Sortino (release date TBA)

Huge thank you to Anna Sortino, @penguinteen, and @netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful story ahead of its pub date! Give Me a Sign comes out July 11th (we are but birthday twins!!) 🎉

🖼️ cover art designed by Kaitlin Yang (@kaitlin.k.draws) & illustrated by Christina Chung (@christinaillos)

Even though I am on the milder end of the hearing impaired spectrum, this book spoke to me. From the frustration of sitting in an audiologist booth to the guessing what someone is saying because they are speaking softly or there is too much background noise. Lilah was born with a severe hearing impairment and uses hearing aids to improve her hearing, though she still needs accommodations at school to help make up for what she cannot hear. Lilah feels like she is in a middle ground between being deaf and fully hearing and doesn’t quite fit in either side. Faced with a summer full of lessons that her mother wants her to do before the next school year, Lilah decides to reach out to the summer camp for deaf and blind kids, that she enjoyed going to when she was younger, to see if she can get a job there. Read on as she figures out what being deaf really means for her.

I received a copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

My summer camp novel frame of reference is more, There’s A Bat in Bunk Five by Paula Danziger–this reminded me of that in all the best ways: new friendships, factions, and some good old fashioned teenage hijinks. Lilah has some hearing loss, as does her younger brother, and reads lips. She will be a counselor all summer at a camp for the deaf and blind, while brother will be spending two weeks of overnight. Lilah’s parents have put a lot of emphasis on implants and mainstreaming, but part of Lilah’s decision in coming to camp was to become more fluent in ASL. She’s frustrated by a tone-deaf hearing person who might be misrepresenting on her popular sign language YouTube channel, frustrated by mixed messages from other counselors, and stressed trying to fit in.

This was a little bit of a slog for me somewhere in the middle, possibly because I always want more romance, and the character growth was more important. Overall, it was a solid read and excellent insight into something I am not so familiar with. The ableist comments made towards Lilah and her friends, and an unsavory situation at a store, really made an impact to the narrative about what it’s like to move through the world as a deaf person. Author Sortino does a fantastic job not slipping into too much telling (it is a bit inevitable) or getting preachy. Many YA novels are about finding your place in the world, and Lilah does experience significant character growth and forms a more solid identity.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #GiveMeASign by #NetGalley.

This book was so good. I loved how the author represented when Lilah couldn't hear or understand something, it was very unique. I just think this book does such a good job of showing the different feelings that people have over being Deaf and I just really enjoyed seeing her journey. It was nice to see Lilah learn more about herself through being a camp counselor. Now I understand that the main focus of the book wasn't the romance but I am going to need a bonus chapter or something to tell me if they were maybe able to go to the same college and continue dating.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Give Me A Sign can be divided into two main elements —Deaf culture/representation and summer camp.

Author Anna Sortino — who is Deaf herself — does an excellent job diving into the varying degrees of hearing loss and their associated challenges. Her exploration of how those with hearing loss integrate into the “hearing” world is not only fascinating but eye-opening as to how frustrating things can be. Most readers will be surprised at the varying levels and will gain a greater empathy and understanding for the Deaf community at large. These parts of the book are authentic and moving.

The summer camp stuff, though, doesn’t have the same oomph to it.

Give Me A Sign is a slow-burn summer romance that kind of stalls. It just doesn’t read as if the author is excited about it as the rest of the book. The romance is fairly predictable, and the campers don’t really experience anything beyond being deaf or blind. It makes things feel a bit flat.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t read Give Me A Sign, but if you’re in it purely for story, I’d check it out from the library rather than purchasing it.

This is such a cute coming of age YA Romance! This story follows Lilah, who is hearing impaired and all of the struggles she goes through each day. I am hard of hearing myself, though nowhere near as severe as Lilah, and could definitely relate to many of the things she went though. I truly enjoyed learning more about deaf culture, sign language, lip reading and daily struggles. Lilah struggles with her identity and where she fits in the world as she isn't fully dead, but she also isn't fully hearing. I loved how grew, came to love her hearing as it was, learned more signs and advocated for her younger brother. I liked the summer romance, but I honestly could have done without that part and only read about the summer camp and all the things surrounding it. I will certainly be reading more from this author!

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮:
• ya romance
• coming of age
• summer camp
• finding identity

TW: deaf discrimination and ableism

As a person who is hard of hearing - living an entire life as hearing passing - this book was an awakening for me. I related to Lilah so much, in so many different ways. I've always said that the hardest thing about being hard of hearing is that it's not a visible disability and people often mistake it for ditziness or rudeness or outright weirdness. I felt that in Lilah's story, in a way that felt very validating (if a little upsetting) and because of that, I could not put this story down.

It reads a like a YA story, but I think that the deaf culture representation alone made it feel like such an important read. I found myself occasionally frustrated by the love story - more due to the YA nature of the story than anything else - but the plot, the storytelling, and the writing completely held my attention and I really enjoyed it.

Give Me a Sign is a sweet, compelling coming-of-age story and I fell in love with so many things that lay between these pages. Lilah and Isaac (and a whole slew of scene-stealing secondary characters) charmed their way into my heart and I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to read this!