Bibliographic Information

Title: Give Me a Sign

Author: Anna Sortino

Narrator: Elizabeth Robbins

Publisher: Books on Tape/Listening Library

Copyright Date: July 10, 2023

ISBN: 9780593682166

Genre

Romance

Format

Audiobook

Running Time

9 hours, 24 minutes

Reading Level/Interest Level

Grades 7-10 (per Booklist)

Awards or Honors Include

Audiobook: none as of the date of this post.

Book:

• A YALSA 2024 Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick
• A NYPL Best Book of the Year Selection – Teens (2023)
• Cybils Awards Finalist – Young Adult Fiction (2023)

Plot Summary

Isaac effortlessly climbs onto the top rail [of the ladder] and holds out a hand, offering to help me up. And then, he doesn’t let go. Expertly reading the emotions on my face, he raises his thick eyebrows, asking if I’m good to go. I squeeze his hand, mouthing the word “yes.”

He counts, “Three, two, one,” and we launch ourselves into the night. (Chapter 6, 1:43:11 mark)

Faced with the prospect of summer school and wanting some space from her overbearing parents, 17-year-old Lilah applies instead to be a junior counselor at Gray Wolf, a camp for the deaf and blind she attended as a kid. Lilah was born hard-of-hearing and, with the use of hearing aids, has mainly existed in the hearing world. But she wants to connect more with Deaf peers and build on her basic knowledge of American Sign Language.

At Gray Wolf, Lilah meets a diverse group of campers and counselors who help her understand the many nuances to living as a Deaf or blind person in the world. She also meets brooding Isaac and bubbly Oliver, two handsome young men who each give her butterflies, though in different ways. As the summer plays out, Lilah learns to claim her own Deaf-identity and discover what it means to fall in love.

Author Background

Anna Sortino is a passionate supporter of disabled authors sharing their stories and perspectives, and disabled readers seeing themselves reflected on the page. She was born deaf and uses hearing aids and believes “Deafness is a spectrum, and every individual has their own experience with it” (Kirichanskaya, 2023). Anna’s second novel for young adults, On the Bright Side, will be released July 2, 2024 (Anna Sortino, n.d.-b).

Critical Evaluation

Anna Sortino beautifully balances the heady romance of summer love with the teenage angst of finding oneself in Give Me a Sign. Most impressive is that while Lilah’s struggles with her hearing disability and her place in the Deaf community are an ever-present reality, Sortino makes both just part of Lilah’s story. Lilah is written as a fully-realized individual, as are the many characters she meets, who each embody their disability in different ways.

The romance in Give Me a Sign is a sweet slow-burn and entirely appropriate for teens and parents looking for a love story on the “PG” side of romance. Teens will also gain a valuable glimpse into the world of the deaf and blind as Sortino shares emotional, impactful insights from her characters in an honest, approachable way.

I was particularly impressed with the audiobook production of Give Me a Sign; narrator Elizabeth Robbins has the perfect vibrant, enthusiastic voice for a teenage girl. I also appreciated the use of sound effects to mimic hands and arms in motion while characters used American Sign Language, as well as the muffled speech used whenever Lilah could not understand another character’s speech. It brought a touch of realism to the storytelling.

Creative Use for a Library Program

A library could invite a Deaf instructor to teach basics of American Sign Language to youth or welcome other Deaf individuals to participate in a “conversation cafe” with youth wanting to learn more about ASL and the Deaf culture. Pairing these activities with the helpful Reader’s Guide for Give Me a Sign could be a unique experience for many teens at the library.

Speed-Round Talk

Lilah’s spontaneous idea to return to her childhood summer camp as a counselor becomes an experience she’ll never forget as she learn to confront her own Deaf-identity and find love in the least expected places.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation

There may be some pushback to a scene in the book where store security and the police are poorly depicted in their treatment of a Deaf individual. There may also be some pushback in the depiction of parents who are not fully supportive of accommodating their Deaf children or learning ASL. It might be helpful to have facts on hand that support the reality of both situations, and to have resources ready that help foster communication and greater understanding, specifically for how law enforcement can better identify and serve Deaf individuals.

Reason for Inclusion

It’s important to center marginalized stories from marginalized creators that not only celebrate their community, but celebrate members of it as individuals, which I think Sortino does beautifully in Give Me a Sign. This is a book about a girl who finds herself and falls in love, and she happens to be Deaf. Sortino also shares a consistent message in the book that every disabled person gets to define what their disability means to them, and how it will affect their daily lives. This kind of impassioned self-determination is important for any youth to witness and internalize and belongs in a collection of materials for this audience.

Books by Anna Sortino: