→ 4.5 stars
★ ★ ★ ★. ☆

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸

okay where to start! i went into this book with high expectations and i was not disappointed, coming-of-age and dystopian? sign me up!

the story is set in a future that doesn’t seem too distant and draws a lot of similarities to today’s world. the book is set up like a journal and i’ve always been a big fan of that format but the artwork made it 10x better. it was easy to read and always kept a pretty steady pace.

the characters, piper especially, were easy to connect with. when she was upset, i was upset! when she was excited so was i! i absolutely loved the coming together of diverse community members to grow and protect the garden.

as a hearing person this book educated me a lot about the struggles of a deaf person. i truly loved the progression of piper embracing her deafness and finding herself. and i ADORED marley. he was such a fun and sweet character but we also got to read about his struggles being a CODA.

i loved this book and romance was a bonus!

This was not formatted correctly to my Kindle so unfortunately I will not be able to provide a review. It also was not the full story just looked like a few chapters of the story. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Pick up this book! You won't be disappointed. This is the first book this year that I immediately put in the reading rotation (sorry books that come out June-October!). I'm so glad I did.

An almost apocalyptic story set in the near future in Australia, the real draw here is Piper, the main character. You're reading her journal, seeing her art, and watching her come into herself. When it starts, her mom and her best friend Taylor are the center of her life. Their lives crumble in very different ways, leaving Piper alone, where she finds new ways of thinking and being. The journal is an art journal, with beautiful images that enrich the story and provide more glimpses into Piper's mind. It is its own character in the story, as she uses it to communicate deep feelings through vulnerability and art.

Being in the head of a Deaf person was a new experience for me and raised issues that I had never known or considered, despite my best efforts at inclusion while being ASL ignorant. Piper uses Auslan, which is the Australian sign language (there are different sign languages and accents within them).

But the issues that both Piper and Marley struggle with are universal. How do you grow into your own person and navigate the change in relationship with your parents? How do you, and how much do you, code switch between different groups in your life? Where do you belong when you are a complex individual and different pieces seem to fit different places? How to you bring all that together?

I have already recommended this to a high school teacher friend for both her and her school library and will continue to do so with others.

Thank you to Asphyxia, Annick Press, and Netgalley for providing an advance ecopy in exchange for an honest review.

This dystopian novel is quite unique as it is written in the style of an art journal. The art is beautiful and intriguing.
Author, Asphyxia has set the story in the future, where trees and plants are rare, jobs are hard to come by, and cars are not heard of. Why? Humans have used up the resources to power cars. There’s no more gas.

Piper is a smart, independent and artistic deaf girl who has an incredible skill at lip reading so she doesn’t use sign language. Unfortunately this is causing her to have headaches. She is tired of conforming even though her mother wants her to be “normal” and come across as a hearing person in order to get a good job. In a world of environmental collapse, Piper is more concerned with survival.

The reader gets a bit of an understanding of what it's like to rely on reading lips. In the text we see what Piper understands (not always what is actually being said).

Then there is good-looking Marley whose mother is deaf and he is a signer! Marley's mom, Robbie, is a talented gardener and teaches Piper her skills while Marley teaches her how to use sign language to communicate. Meeting Marley changes her life. Marley instead of hiding it, helps her to celebrate her deafness.

The story is told as though it were part of Piper's art journal so there are doodles everywhere as well as vividly colored backgrounds and collages.

This is a unique story and be not to missed.

At times, the book meanders, and there are areas that would benefit from the red pen of an editor. But on the whole, it has a cheeky subversiveness that makes it quite charming and may inspire its readers to plant their own gardens and dream of a better future. The artwork is lovely. The heroine being Deaf along with the author’s intimate knowledge of Deaf culture help distinguish its protagonist from the many other books out there.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of The Words in My Hands in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed how truly unique everything about this was from it's format to it's protagonist to it's world and I'm always a fan of authors using their books to examine social themes and messages, something about the characters and plot in tandem here made it difficult for me personally to connect to anything. Diary formats are always a risk that sometimes really pay off and sometimes don't and for me at least, this one fell a lot closer to the "don't" category.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I really enjoyed this story. It was written in a very unique style that took some getting used too. But once I was used to it I was drawn in and had a hard time putting the book down.

I loved everything about this book. It is a unique, one of a kind, piece of artistry. The first thing to catch my eye was the stunning cover art. The second was the Title. This was originally published in Australia under the title Future Girl. While I understand where that title came from, I much prefer the US title, The Words in My Hands. This cover (artwork and title) is just so expressive.

I did not understand what an art journal was until I read this book. What a neat thing. Basically, the main character loves to create and add to her art journal. Instead of writing on plain old paper, Piper uses paint, tape, and scraps to create pages that have texture and color. She doodles in the borders, adds small pictures off to the side or on part of the page, and on some pages, sketches or paints full page pictures. This story, which is told in first person, is written in this creative journal. Occasionally there are articles or notes pasted in it or a hand written scribble. The story is not told in journal format, although the chapter titles are dates, but is simply told in the journal, on decorative pages, enhanced by wonderful artwork. The art is either of a piece of art Piper created or an event that took place, that she describes in detail in the story.

The story itself is equally impressive. Asphyxia gives us a glimpse into the life of someone who is Deaf and has grown up oral. We hear what Piper hears and can’t hear. We can see the process her brain goes through as she deciphers what someone is saying via lip reading. We feel Pipers frustration, loneliness, and despair as she tries to find her place in the world,

All of this is told through a simple, clear, dystopian plot. A situation that is frightening to realize sounds like something that could happen. We see Piper grow and find her strength and her voice while she stands and fights for what she believes in.

This is a very creative novel. I plan on purchasing the hard cover of this when it is released. I highly recommend this novel to teens and adults.

Thank you Net Galley and Annick Press for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #TheWordsinMyHands

Not often do you find a book which is gorgeous, in both representation and presentation. This book hits both those marks.

First, the artwork in this book is stunning. The entire book is a work of art, as it takes its inspiration from the main character’s art journal. Each page will have any artists itching to pull out their art supplies and begin working. That alone is a reason to check out the book.

However, the reasons don’t end there. Asphyxia’s The Words in My Hands doesn’t stop with pretty pages. It is a beautiful dystopian blend of art, coming of age, and Deaf culture. Piper, a sixteen year old deaf girl who grew up oral, learns not only how to feed her family and community while taking on a revolution against a corrupt corporate-run government, but she finds herself as she learns what Big-D Deaf means, learns Auslan (Australian sign language), is embraced by the Deaf community, and embraces who she wants to be. What does it mean to push away the expectations of those around you in order to be your entire self? Find out in November 2021 when the book is released. This is a YA book worth keeping an eye on.

This book was simply beautiful. It is set in a not-so-distant future, where trees and plants are rare, jobs are hard to come by, and cars who? There are basically no cars because there's no more gas/petrol. Really makes you think about where we're heading.

First, we have Piper. A Deaf girl who does not know any sign language. Instead, she has to read lips which, understandably, gives her headaches. The reader also gets a bit of an idea of what it's like to rely on reading lips as on the page, we see what Piper understands (not always what is being said).

Enter the very good-looking Marley whose mother is Deaf and, you guessed it! he can sign! Marley's mom, Robbie, has a beautiful garden and teaches Piper about gardening while Marley teaches her how to use sign language to communicate.

The story is told as though it were part of Piper's art journal so there are doodles everywhere as well as pretty coloured backgrounds and collages. I love that this is an own-voices story. And reading this totally made me want to start a garden of my own!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

"I need to feel connected with someone, and there's no one." - From The Words in My Hands

4 stars

This is a visually beautiful OWN voices story that follows a girl named Piper. I haven't really read a book with this much art on each page, so it was a unique. lovely experience. At first it was hard to understand, as Piper writes the dialog as she receives it, so it usually is hard to determine. After a little, I minded it less, and it was easier as she starts hanging out with more inclusive people and is using signs. Then the pacing is more enjoyable. I enjoyed the basic plot of government corruption and controlling the food and freedom of speach. The tree stealing side plot wasn't really explained too much. The mother was hard to read, being a complete wreck; along with Taylor. Seriously the Taylor thing felt out of place, along with the random fight the MC has with her boy. I feel like many teenagers would really resonate with this story and art. I enjoyed also learning a little bit about Auslan.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

This was an interesting read, very different from my normal genres. It’s written in a visual diary style and I love all of the illustrations. The story itself was a quick read that drew me in and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. Some of the government aspects were a little scary!