Wednesday, March 26, 2008

A Nearly Deaf Girl Who Isn't Allowed To Sign


Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby

It's a very good book. I need to return it to the library today, so I thought I just post it before I go.


From the book:

Thirteen-year-old Joey Willis is used to being left out of conversations. Though she's been deaf since the age of six, Joey has never been allowed by her mother to learn sign language. She strains to read the lips of those around her but often fails.

Everything changes when Joey meets Dr. Charles Mansell and his baby chimpanzee, Sukari. Her new friends use sign language to communicate, and Joey secretly begins to learn to sign. Spending time with Charlie and Sukari, Joey has never been happier. She even starts making friends at school for the first time. But as Joey's world blooms with possibiities, Charlie's and Sukari's choices begin to narrow- until Sukari's very survival is in doubt.

Now you see how it affected her when she learned the sign language. It is not the only thing she learned but bloomed her world.

In the end, it's kind of sad.

I don't want to ruin your surprise if you're going to get it to read. In the book, a lot of things are happening that it made me into reading without a stop.

Gotta go now!

2 comments:

Kim said...

I loved this book! I'm glad you read it too. The author did a great job of capturing lip reading skills, how ineffectual it can be, and the denial of families to face the fact someone is deaf. She must have done a lot of research. In the back she told of her early experiences that led to the book. Did you read that part? Very interesting.

Deb Ann and Hannah said...

Yes,I read that part. She did an excellent job on researching before writing a book. She is fantastic! She's an excellent writer and her book is so readable.