This was such a cute read! I know ASL so I am always interested in books with Deaf or Hard of Hearing representation. This was a smash hit for me.

This was a nice self discovery romance book! I kind of wanted more from the romance department but I enjoyed it nonetheless

Our protagonist, Lilah, is caught in the in-between: too hearing to be deaf and too deaf to be hearing. Like anyone, she craves belonging. When she comes across an opportunity to be a junior counselor at Camp Grey Hawk, a summer camp for the deaf and blind, she can't pass it up. As a former camper, it's bound to be easy enough to catch on, right? ...Right?!

Lilah goes on to have a summer chock full of love, laughter, friendship, and ultimately, self-realization. In this tale of teenagehood, we see all the things we related to as teens, but under the scope of disability. It's an excellent foray into acceptance, both of the self and of others, and really showcases what it means to come into yourself and learn to love everything about you.

A sweet romance with a deaf main character with some hearing, struggling to figure out where she fits in the intersection of the deaf and hearing worlds. I learned a lot about deaf culture.

I am proud to say that both of the ASL teachers at my school are Deaf. My school also has the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program for our entire area, and our ASL teachers are fierce advocates for their students, making sure that videos created at our school are captioned and accessible.

Additionally, one of my speech and debate students made it to nationals with a persuasive speech raising awareness of Audism—and she signed parts of the speech.

All this is to say that, although I am aware of some of the issues facing the Deaf community, and have been exposed to Deaf culture, I learned a lot more from this book. And I never felt as if I was being preached to.

Primarily, this is a story about a teenage girl finding herself and overcoming some of her self-doubts. The fact that she hard of hearing is just part of the story—an important part, but, for me at least, the story is about HER, not just her deafness.

Sometimes, Lilah messes up, usually because of her self-doubts, not because she’s Deaf. But she learns, and does better, and really begins to find her place as the story progresses. Watching her gain confidence—in her abilities with ASL, as a counselor, and in her relationship with Isaac—is satisfying and heartening.

Possible Objectionable Material:
Conflict with parents. Some teenage hijinks. Kissing. One camper gets sick and throws up (ew). LGBT+ representation. Cursing.

Who Might Like This Book:
People who like summer camp stories, coming of age, and teen romance. And, of course, those who want to learn more about Deaf culture.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2024/07/lets-start-july-with-bang.html

This was such a good read! Deaf rep is something my shelves are lacking, and this representation was incredible to read! Give Me A Sign is a coming of age story of Lilah finding herself and who she wants to be, and this romance was adorable! Simply loved it.

I loved this Ya novel about Lilah who while dealing with hearing loss for stuck in the middle, as she doesn't feel deaf enough to fit in with the Deaf community but losing her hearing doesn't fit in the hearing world anymore. Throw in summer camp and first love you have the perfect coming of age novel. As Deaf teens can finally see themselves in a YA novel.

I finally got around to reading this book and I had a wonderful time with it. I have been signing since about 2013 and I went to grad school at Gallaudet University where I was totally immersed in the Deaf Community and Deaf Culture. With this experience I feel that the Deaf representation in this book was extremely well done. I appreciated that our main character was open with her struggle about not being "Deaf enough" or "hearing enough" as I have chatted with friends and had academic discourse about this topic so seeing it come up in a YA novel I am sure can be quite validating for teens feeling the same way. It is also educational for those wanting to learn more about the Deaf Community and Culture. I thought the romance and found family aspects of this novel were very sweet and endearing as well. Overall I really enjoyed my time with this book and would be interested in picking up more from this author

I finally read this, unfortunately not when i was given the arc but i still felt obligated to write a review...before i start i just want to thank netgalley. This was good, but not as good as i was expecting. the writing felt off! but i liked the characters.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW! This was SO cute! I always like learning through fiction and this was the perfect introduction to deafness and US Deaf culture in my opinion. The characters were so endearing and sweet together, I just adored them with all my heart. It had some good messages and tackled important themes although I thought it was a little heavy handed at times. I also found some aspect a tad to juvenile but I've been growing out of younger YA for a while and this is totally a younger YA read so it's a me thing. 4 stars

A wonderful book with well written characters. Even the side characters are well developed! Our heroine has some hearing loss., but not many people notice. This begins to make her feel like she is distancing herself from part of herself. She never uses sign in her day to day life, even with her family.
She remembers that the last time she felt completely accepted was as a child in summer camp, so she decides to become a camp counselor over summer vacation. She can earn some money and brush up on her ASL. What she doesn't expect is to find herself. During her stay she learns more about herself and how to make her place in the outside world.
This was a truly amazing book! I learned so much and I am so grateful to #netgalley, #penguingroup and Anna Sortino, who is a brilliant author,

I really enjoyed learning more about the Deaf community while reading this book! It was very insightful while still being entertaining. I definitely recommend this!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy of this book.

Okay but incredibly slow to build. I understand why it focuses on the ableism but a lot of the story felt purposely focused on miscommunication and never clarifying more. Which, I get, when advocating can be exhausting.

dnf for now because I don’t think I have the energy or the will to get through any romance books right now BUT I did really enjoy what I read so I will come back to it when romance interests me again!

Unfortunately, I just didn't get to this one on my list. It looks like a great story and I hope to get to it later but it wasn't high enough on my priorities.

Beautiful debut about belonging and finding who you are. Addresses the nuances of deaf culture and what is means to be disabled.

This incredibly sweet and impossibly charming novel is an absolute delight to read. A summer romance, a coming of age, and a journey to understand oneself, it follows Lilah in her journey at summer camp to delve into knowing herself, her history, and who she wants to become. It’s always a joy to uncover a new debut author who’s just rocking it with their writing, and Sortino fits the bill. Her characters are relatable and reflective of teens today. Though each character is on their own journey, they come together at Camp Grey Wolf to unite and build friendships and community, while also learning more about ASL and Deaf culture.

Lilah is someone who falls in the middle. Her hearing loss isn’t entire, but it’s enough that it makes day-to-day life in the mainstream a constant and tiring challenge. To get through the week, she’s having to explain herself, sit silently in passive acceptance of being out of the loop, or withstand the constant spotlight of requesting accommodation. She often feels too Deaf to fit in with the hearing community, but not “deaf enough” to fit in with those who’s hearing loss is much more severe than her own. In this grey area, she’s begun to feel lost and misguided, not knowing where she belongs. Camp Grey Wolf is a camp she attended as a child and her return there could be just the thing to help her uncover her own passions and direction.

At it’s heart, this is a story of friendship, self-love, community, acceptance, and identity. It’s packed full of great characters, beautiful connections, and incredible self-growth. I absolutely recommend this story for this summer and I think that many readers will love this story as much as I did.

Give Me a Sign
by Anna Sortino
Pub Date 11 Jul 2023
PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group |G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Teens & YA


⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Penguin GROUP, Penguin Young Readers, and Netgalley have provided me with a copy of Give Me a Sign for review:


Lilah is caught in the middle. That's how having a hearing loss feels sometimes-when you don't feel "deaf enough" to identify as Deaf or hear enough to meet the world's expectations. But this summer, Lilah is ready for a change.


She plans to brush up on her ASL when she becomes a counselor at a summer camp for the deaf and blind. Her community also awaits her once she arrives. As well as cute British lifeguards who break hearts but not rules, a YouTuber who's desperate for exposure, Lilah's campers (and overwhelmed by them)-and Isaac, the dreamy Deaf counselor who volunteers to teach Lilah sign language.




Lilah doesn't think Isaac likes her that way, and romance wasn't on the agenda. However, all signs point to love. Unless she's misreading them? One thing’s for sure: Lilah wanted change, and things here . . . they're certainly different than what she’s used to.As for Lilah, she wanted change, and things here . . . they're certainly different from what she's used to.


I give, Give Me A Sign five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

This was a great debut YA novel, that I really liked reading!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher

This was such a cute read. I loved the identity crisis the main character was going through. I related a bit in language barriers angle of the story. Like the main character, I wish I spoke a language I "should" know. I think the ending came off a bit rushed but I loved the journey along the way. Overall, I think I just wish I had longer with these characters and this story but it was a great read.