Cindy Sue4d ago
Last night I was searching for a book to read and my 18 year old picked Show Me a Sign by Ann Clarke LeZotte off my middle grade shelf. I recently found this at Goodwill and it was absolutely great! It is the story of Mary Lambert, a 12 year old living on Martha's Vineyard with her family. Her and her father are both deaf, her mother and her brother are hearing. Her brother has died in a tragic accident. The story takes place in the 1790s to very early 1800s.
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Show threadCindy Sue
@bookstodon Martha's Vineyard has a history of having a large deaf population. At the time this story takes place almost all of inhabitants on the island use Martha's Vineyard Sign Language whether they are deaf or hearing. A "scientist" comes to island to figure out why there is such a concentrated population of deaf people. And... That's where the story takes a turn. I won't give any spoilers here.
Mar 22 at 2:51amWeb
Show threadCindy Sue4d ago

@bookstodon It is a middle grade novel, so ages 8-12. It touches on not just discrimination of the deaf, but also of the Wampanoag tribe and the Irish. It tells some history of the colonization of the island and the history of the American Revolution which is not in the very distant past.

The end of the book has some pages about the author, MVSL, ASL, the island's history, and the Wampanoag. There is also a sequel titled Set Me Free that I have already ordered through interlibrary loan.

Show threadCindy Sue4d ago
@bookstodon Overall, it was a great middle grade book. It won the Schneider Family Book Award, was on the NPR Best Books of 2020 list, the Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2020 list, the School Library Journal Best Books of 2020 list, New York Public Library Best Books of 2020 list, Chicago Public Library Best Books of 2020 list, was a 2020 Jane Addams Children's Book Award Finalist, and a 2020 New England Book Award Finalist.