Perfect summer camp YA romance with amazing rep! It was such a sweet, fun read, and I can't recommend it enough!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was so cute. I loved it and it reminded me of those butterfly feelings that you had as a teenager when you had an overwhelming crush on someone new! It was so sweet. Give Me A Sign is a story about Lilah, our fmc, who is hard of hearing and trying to find her way in Deaf culture. She often feels like she isn't "deaf enough" or "hearing enough" to fit in either world. She decides she wants to becoming a counselor at the summer camp she grew up going to so she can brush up on her ASL. She gains more than just brushing up on her ASL and she finds a community where she can thrive.
She meets Isaac, our mmc, who is deaf and they really hit it off as as friends and this is when our love story develops. <3

-ya contemporary romance
-deaf/hoh rep
-friends to lovers
-summer camp vibes
-character growth
-single pov

This book is super cute and provides great insight on the Deaf/HOH community! One thing y'all might not know about me is that I have a minor in ASL so this book really captivated me because of my love for the language. If you are wanting to learn more about the deaf community, this YA romance book would be a great book for you to pick up!

A beautiful love story that has amazing representation. The couple had such great chemistry and I loved this read

A heartfelt YA contemporary about what it really means to be part of a community. Lilah has spent her life working hard to fit in with her hearing friends at her hearing school. She does her best to follow along with conversations and not be a “burden” when she misses things. She feels the constant weight of having to keep up – or at least pretend to – when the words spoken blur by in a muddled haze. When she gets the opportunity to be a counselor at the camp for Deaf kids she went to when she was younger, she’s excited but also scared that she won’t feel at home there either – after all, they mostly use ASL, and she hasn’t had much chance to practice it over the years. But when she meets Isaac, she finally finds someone who makes her feel comfortable in her own skin.

This Own Voices story highlights those feelings of otherness and loneliness that are prevalent for many teens, but it also shows a perspective that will be new to a lot of readers. With a swoony romance, burgeoning friendships, and a fun summer camp vibe, it’s sure to win over both contemporary readers who are looking for a read that will widen their understanding of the world and readers who just love a sweet YA romance!

Give Me a Sign is a heartwarming summer novel that brings the complexities of deaf culture to the forefront of young adult fiction. Our main character Lilah is a deaf teenager beginning her summer break from high school. Lilah lands a job as a junior camp counselor at Gray Wolf, a free summer camp for deaf and blind kids of all ages. She’s delighted to have landed this job because she was once a camper at Gray Wolf herself. At the beginning of the book, we witness her reminisce on how positive the camp experience was for her, and how comparatively, the “hearing world” is full of accessibility challenges on a daily basis.

As the synopsis suggests, Lilah feels caught in the middle of two worlds: she is not profoundly deaf, but she is deaf enough that daily interactions are difficult. She has hearing aids, but they don’t magically fix her hearing. Regardless of these facts, the people around her have expectations for her to keep up and function “normally” despite her disability.

“I’m not ashamed of my disability or anything like that. What bothers me is trying to fit into the hearing world. That I’m constantly the odd one out, the one who always has to explain or adjust.”

In contrast, at Camp, she is able to be herself without the hearing world’s expectations. She is immersed in and determined to improve American sign language. She can forgo the hearing aids if she wants to. She doesn’t have to worry about being considered “annoying” for asking someone to repeat themselves or rephrase their words so that she understands. And while the accessibility/accommodation troubles fall away, Lilah finds herself falling for another dead camp counselor, Isaac.

What I appreciated most about Give Me a Sign is how each character is unique and their experiences and backgrounds with being deaf/HoH/blind are spotlighted in turn. We see a real representation of a disability spectrum: a spectrum of deafness; a spectrum of ASL fluency; a spectrum of independence and confidence in navigating the world with these disabilities. Not every character likes being loud and proud about their disability; not every character signs; not every character wears or enjoys wearing their hearing devices. In Sortino’s author note at the end of the book, she touches on how diverse the disability experience is, and how even the diverse cast of Give Me a Sign will never encompass every person’s experience with deafness:

“Give Me a Sign is by no means representative of all those with hearing loss, since no single novel could possibly encompass our variety of backgrounds and stories. I simply hope it gives readers a glance into the deoth and complexities of Deaf culture, as well as an understanding of why I and so many others are proud to be Deaf.” – Anna Sortino
In all, I have a great appreciation for this book and its exploration of disability in the young adult novel space. It has its happy, sad, infuriating, and enlightening moments all throughout, and I think for anyone and everyone, it’s worth the read.

This book follows Lilah, who was born with a hearing loss, as she navigates what it means to choose her own communication route. Hearing aids are not perfect. They’re not like glasses which “correct” your vision. Hearing aids are an assistive device for listening. Not everyone with hearing loss benefits from hearing aids. That’s when cochlear implants come into play.

As a pediatric audiologist, I of course was drawn to this book. The craze of True Biz last year had me rollinnngggg, so I went into this one hoping it shed a happier light on the devices that deaf/hard of hearing individuals can use. I definitely enjoyed this book a bit more than true biz. However, I must point out there were slight inaccuracies that I cannot ignore.

A young adult read, indeed, but was well written and enjoyable for me as an adult, audiology relation aside!

I love when a story is set at a summer camp. It brings back so many memories and it’s easy to be transported back to when I was more care free and got to be a kid. Give Me a Sign is an incredibly charming story that centers around Lilah, a teenager who was born hard of hearing, and often questions whether she’s “deaf enough”. When Lilah decides to go back to camp gray wolf as a junior counselor, she’s both excited and nervous to brush up on her ASL and reconnect with a community.

Give Me a Sign is a beautiful novel that touches on so many topics, like community, identity, and accessibility. Lilah’s story felt very centered around her own identity, both as a young woman and as someone in the Deaf community. Throughout the story she learns to accept herself and allow herself to grow and learn, while also dealing with the typical drama that comes with being a teenager and having feelings for someone new.

I really enjoyed all of the characters throughout the story and the different forms of representation the author included. It was also nice to see how certain characters had their own flaws and moments to learn, which tied in nicely to the larger story.

I highly recommend adding Give Me a Sign to your reading list and can’t wait to read future novels by this author!

Give Me a Sign was an insightful book that examines what it looks like to be a part of the Deaf community and challenges people in this community face. I was wanting a sweet summer camp story and I definitely found that in this book. As someone who has studied sign language and Deaf culture, I truly enjoyed how educational it was. I’m excited to see what future books Anna Sortino writes.

LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! This will be going on my "must read again" list. Anna Sortino is a Deaf author who's writing style will pull you in from the first few pages and keep your attention until the very end. It was so refreshing to have a Deaf character who was not only the main character of the book but also written by someone who has been there and had similar experiences. It's an enlightening title for anyone with any level of knowledge about sign language, Deaf culture, and those with hearing and sight disabilities. I would recommend this read to children and adults alike.

A wonderful book about friendship and finding your own way in the world when you face a disability like a hearing impairment. I loved that this will be a book for readers to relate to, but also provide a window for young readers to have an understanding of some of the ignorance of the world and assumptions and how we can be more compassionate and helpful for our deaf community. Add to the friendships and love interest that transpire at summer camps.

‚Give Me a Sign’ is a novel about Lilah who is deaf and struggles in the hearing world. She goes back to the deaf camp she used to attend as a child and meets other deaf teenagers who help her practice ASL. Lilah falls for Isaac who encourages her to be proud of being deaf even though it is not always easy in the hearing environment.
It’s highly educational read in terms of knowing the deaf culture, but it’s also very well-written novel that can be easily read at one go.
I really enjoyed the insight into the deaf world, it was eye opening.

Feeling a little stuck in a rut and unseen and unheard by her family and friends, Lilah remembers the fun she had at the summer camp she used to go to when she was younger. On a whim, she reaches out to an old camp-mate and is able to score a job for the summer at the camp as a junior counselor. Maybe this is just what she needs to find a little piece of who she wants to be.

As the summer progresses, Lilah learns more about what it means to identify with Deaf culture and also discovers a little confidence in her abilities along the way. Through in a little romance, and her summer would be perfect!

This is a good introduction to Deaf culture and provides a little insight into what someone who is deaf would experience, including the negative judgements from those around them who feel like those who can't hear are somehow less-than. A great recommendation for fans of the TV series Switched at Birth. There are multiple situations that bring to light the need to look for ways to connect with others are how the world can be very difficult to navigate for those who cannot see or hear the communications going on around them.

I received a copy of this from the publisher via netgalley.com.

this made me miss summer camp when i was little so badly!!! the vibes were immaculate! it was so wholesome and i loved the deaf rep in it. it makes me want to learn ASL.

I did not want this book to end! I loved the flow of the story and I found myself reading a few pages everyday because it gave me so much joy. I'm a sucker for summer camp romance stories but I always find myself worried about how it'll end. But, this honestly felt like the most realistic way for the story to pan out.
I've only read a handful of stories featuring deaf main characters and I would love to read more! I understand that not one story is representative of a whole community, but I feel like I've learned a lot and that the representation does matter. I'll keep searching for more diverse stories and reading them.

"Often, when people are inspired by disabilities, what they’re really thinking is Wow, I’m so glad that’s not my life."

𝙂𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙈𝙚 𝘼 𝙎𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙗𝙮 𝘼𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙎𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙤

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄:
For Lilah it's always been hard fitting in especially around people the feeling of being an inconvenience when you're hard of hearing or the inadequacy of not being deaf enough. Lilah is learning to be comfortable in her own deafness and feeling relevant without having to fit in a certain criteria.

It's a coming of age young adult novel exploring the issues about fitting in, feeling relevant and falling in love. I loved this novel so much. I loved how Lilah was determined to learn ASL, and try to make it more accessible especially to her brother. I love that it represents the deaf community also touching on other disabilities as well.

5 ⭐

Thank you for this arc, all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was such a good read. Something about the cover and description on Netgalley intrigued me. This is perfect for high schoolers! But also anyone in general, in my opinion.

The story follows Lilah and her journey in discovering her true self and also becoming more aware of the struggles and issues within the deaf community. Not only is she working on herself, but she is also a junior counselor at a summer camp helping others navigate their journey as well.

So many lessons and situations that truly opened my eyes. Love being able to easily gain knowledge while enjoying a sweet story. This is a coming of age book with a sweet HEA of a relationship that slowly develops.

17 year old Lilah is Deaf, but has never felt Deaf enough. When she was younger, she attended Camp Gray Wolf, a summer camp for the Deaf and blind. She decides to apply to become a Junior counsellor this summer, even though she knows very little ASL. Her application is accepted, and she returns to the camp where she reunites with her old friend Isaac.

I thought this was a fun, cute story, with great Deaf representation. I listened to the audiobook version, and loved how when Lilah did not hear someone, it would muffle the audio. I thought it was a really great touch. I really liked the summer camp setting, and I love how Lilah found her place in her community, and finally felt like enough. The slow burn friends to lovers romance was super cute, and I liked watching them grow into their relationship. It did get preachy at times, but it wasn't too bad. The book is light-hearted for the most part, but does discuss some deeper topics as well, which I think were handled well.

This would be a great book to read during camping in the summer or a cottage trip!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

This book had an interesting premise, dealing with deaf/hearing impaired characters and a summer camp. While I enjoyed the setting and learning about deaf culture living in a hearing world, I just couldn't fully connect with the characters and story. The writing was fine, and I enjoyed the summer romance. I'm not sure why I didn't enjoy it more,


3 stars

As an autistic person, I try my best to pay attention to books with disability representation, and I try to read a variety of them. Still, I haven't come across a whole lot of books with Deaf representation, so I was very excited to see this YA contemporary being released!

This is such a good summer read! It's set at a summer camp for blind and Deaf kids, where Lilah, our protagonist, used to come as a child, and is now going to be a junior counsellor. There's a lot of camp vibes, centering new friendships and new romance, which was a really good time.

I really enjoyed the setting of summer camp, because through Lilah's eyes, we meet a lot of different people, which makes it clear that there are a lot of ways to be Deaf, and that there are a lot of different ways people can view their own Deafness. It was so great to see Lilah connect more with other Deaf people, and learn sign language as a way to be more authentic to herself, and to communicate with others better. It was so amazing to see her grow into her own throughout the course of the book.

I loved reading this book!! The deaf and CODA representation is such an underrepresented and underrated side of storytelling and I thoroughly enjoyed the way the story was told. I loved the writing style and found it easy to get into and lose myself in the story. I also loved the characters and their young adult journey. This book was perfect!