Feeling out of place, overwhelmed by changes in your life you have no control over, finding your people, and facing an uncertain future are all touched on in this beautiful story. I’m going to try to write this review without spoilers, but there may be a few small ones.

The story is told in alternating point of view between Ellie and Jackson, and it works really well for this story.

Ellie has always felt separate from her family, they expect her to fit into their hearing world, without taking the time to understand her deaf world. But they did send her to a deaf boarding school where she was completely immersed in the deaf community. Coming back home and going to a somewhat unaccepting high school for her senior year is a huge challenge. Her parents make the situation more difficult, but Ellie herself is a little obnoxious about the whole thing as well. To be fair, I am 100% on her side when it comes to her parents making an effort to understand her, and that entire dynamic really made me angry, but she went into everything with a bad attitude to begin with.

Jackson comes across as a little bit of a people pleaser to me, but he is a really nice guy who has a whole lot of his own issues happening. All of these weird, seemingly unrelated medical things keep happening to him, his parents are super into health and exercise and think he just needs to push through. He’s not comfortable hanging out with the soccer team anymore because a health issue cost them the state championship. And he just wants to know what is happening to him.

Ellie and Jackson find each other and are drawn together, becoming friends, then more. Jackson makes an effort to try to learn ASL so he can communicate better with Ellie. She ventures into some situations outside her comfort zone to spend time with Jackson. Together they navigate their growing relationship, their parents, Jackson’s diagnosis, and Ellie’s desire for understanding.

I loved getting to know both characters and felt with them as they navigated all of the drama. I loved the way they both found community to help them deal with their disabilities and find their way toward happiness.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book through Net Galley on behalf of the publisher for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was a lovely YA story about a Deaf girl struggling to find a place in her parent's home and new mainstream school during her senior year, and a boy who loves everything sports and active, who suddenly gets diagnosed with MS. They make a wonderful pair, helping each other feel more comfortable in their new situations, and actually help each other feel understood. The story was very sweet, and I for ONCE the third act "break up" actually makes sense!!! Loved it.

I really enjoyed Anna Sortino’s debut novel GIVE ME A SIGN so I was thrilled to receive an early copy of her second novel ON THE BRIGHT SIDE. Thank you to the publishers.

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE has dual disability representation based on personal experience. The book follows Ellie, a Deaf teen whose Deaf boarding school was just shut down, forcing her to live with her hearing parents and attend mainstream public school, and Jackson, a soccer player at her new school who has been dealing with mysterious health problems that his friends and family are eager to ignore.

I really loved Jackson and Ellie’s unique identities and experiences with disability. You can really tell it’s based on personal experience and real emotions. Their connection is unique, sweet, and emotional. I especially related to Jackson’s experience as he undergoes a diagnosis of MS, but I wish that there had been more time devoted to his journey post-diagnosis.

In a perfect world, I think this book would be a duology so the plot could’ve been more fleshed out with time to breathe. However, even with the short page count, the author packs in a lot of character work and moving reflections on disability.

I wasn’t always the biggest fan of some of Ellie’s decisions, but I understood her hurt and resentment just like I understood Jackson’s fear, confusion, and grief. I just wish she had owned up to her mistakes a tad more, but with limited page count there just wasn’t enough time for the characters to develop, in my opinion.

Even while wishing for more pages, I highly recommend this book for those of you looking for a sweet romance and authentic, profound disability representation. It’s definitely going on my favorites of 2024 list!

'On the Bright Side' is a book about unlikely friendship (or even more) between a jock and a deaf girl. Ellie has just trasferred from a deaf school to a normal one and is seen as a weirdo being the only deaf kid in the school, while Jackson is a popular athlete who does a lot of voluntary work at his free time. One day Jackson is asked to show Ellie around the school and this is how they meet. At some point Jackson fails to deliver at the most important game of the season and he is being diagnosed with MS which he thought would completely destroy his life but now that he knows Ellie he understands that being disabled is not the end of the world. By accepting and growing feelings for Ellie he is more prepared to deal with his own fortune,
I really love the book especially because it is written from both Ellie's and Jackson's perspectives. It gives you the real inside view of the way teens with disabilities feel especially if they are misunderstood by their own family members.
I find the facts about both deafness and MS accurate and enlightening.

Thanks to NetGalley and his publicists for the advanced copy of this book.

The depiction of health problems in this book is very well done, the main characters were very interesting, and overall, it is a very good book.

An attention-grabbing, fast-paced story that I truly enjoyed!

This book truly surrounds disabilities and the feelings behind them. I absolutely loved following along int he story where it was dialogue using American Sign Language (ASL). Having this included in the book was a very nice touch.

Throughout this book, we got to see the feelings of how being diagnosed with a disability feels. With Ellie, we see that she doesn’t treat her disability the way that Jackson does. After learning of Jackson’s diagnosis, we see him spiral almost saying that this was the end for him which is so not the case. We get to see owning the disability and living life which is so important for representation!

These teenagers felt so much older which happens when you’re forced to grow up quickly. I would recommend this book as it has a lot of important topics and it’s so fast-paced that you don’t even realize you’re at the end of the book until you’re there.

*Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group for letting me read an ARC of this book through NetGalley!*

On the Bright Side
Overall Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ (3/5) or 6.42/10 overall

Characters - 6
I wish the characters in this book had more growth. For a while they felt very cohesive and reasonably relatable, but in the last 25% of the book they became much more stagnant.

Atmosphere - 7
The atmosphere was pleasant but nothing to write home about. I can't say it really stood out to me, but it was there.

Writing - 6
The writing was fairly consistent. It wasn't bland, but it wasn't the most attention-grabbing either.

Plot - 7
The plot was good until it wasn't. For a while, everything made enough sense and was reasonably spaced out but then suddenly it was like time-jump central and the characters were making questionable decisions. Suffice to say, the ending did not satisfy me. :/

Intrigue - 7
I was decently intrigued by this book. The cover looks amazing and the description sounded unique, but the hype died down a bit for me the further I got into the book.

Logic - 6
There was enough logic to make the book passable. I would've liked a bit more explanation/description here or there though.

Enjoyment - 6
I enjoyed parts of this book. It was nice to see the main characters slowly realize that they are in control of their own lives, not their shitty parents. I was hoping for a bit more from the story, but it was still interesting enough.

This one feels like maybe it's trying a little too hard. There is plenty of discussion of hat you might call accessibility privilege, the narrative is frustratingly blind to financial privilege. It gets props for trying and for giving us believable characters but it isn't complex enough for a deep read.

I thought that this was a very sweet, honest YA romance.

It seems to have accurate depictions of different teenagers' experiences of being deaf and one teenager's experience of MS.

It is a heartfelt novel that helps the reader gain more perspective on the lives and struggles of both Ellie and Jackson. Both characters are learning to find their place in the world as seniors in high school while grappling with the big changes they each faced that year.

I think this novel depicts just how sweet and full of care young love can be, even when there as challenges as tough as the ones faced by Ellie and Jackson.

I feel very lucky that I was given the opportunity to read this ARC. I hope that this novel gets the attention it deserves!

cool romance with some great rep and very well done attributes in my opinion. would recommend again!

I haven't read Anna Sortino's first book "Give Me a Sign" yet, but thought I should give this one a try since I had heard such amazing things about her YA debut novel. "On the Bright Side" was cute and pretty deep for it being a YA title, but I appreciate that a lot - that so many YA titles go more into depth again now. Ellie and Jackson's story was full of challenges and how to overcome them or how to keep believing, making the best for oneself while finding out what they want from life and from their relationship. Since I'm learning the German sign language right now, this book was perfect for me to get more information on people depending on sign languages and how the people around them can be supportive, but also some aren't.

I thought it was a cute book and is well-suited for more mature audience. Also, I listened to the audiobook for this one and really adored both narrators.

3.5/5 Stars

Ellie's Deaf school has just been shut down, causing her to have to move back home to her hearing family. She starts her senior year at a mainstream school and is paired with Jackson, who is asked to help her settle in. Jackson has also been struggling with problems of his own concerning his health. At his last soccer game, he costs the team the match when his legs give out unexpectedly. As Jackson gets to know Ellie, he realizes that she is his safe space when it comes to his heightening symptoms.

I enjoyed Give Me a Sign by this author, so I was excited to pick up another of their books. I thought this was a cute romance between Ellie and Jackson. I thought they were very sweet together, and I like how they learned to trust one another as they got to know each other. I definitely liked Jackson's character more then Ellie. At times Ellie rubbed me the wrong way, and I thought she was quite rude to multiple people in her life. I do understand her frustration with her sister and parents, which were very valid feelings... but I do think that if she had sat them down sooner and told them how they were making her feel the issues could have been resolved much sooner for her. I really liked Jackson's character. I can only imagine the confusion and devastation he must have felt when his symptoms started appearing and not know what was going on with his own body. I like how Jackson leaned on Ellie and found her to be a source of comfort when he was trying to navigate his new disability. I think the conversations they had around disability were amazingly done, and I really liked that aspect of the story.

A sweet story with a deaf main character, Ellie, who is growing up in a hearing family. When her special boarding school (for the deaf and hard of hearing) closes, she has to move home and go into a regular school. The counselor at her school has Jackson pair up with Ellie to help her get settled into her new school. And of course you know that they will end up together. This is the second book I've read from this author and it won't be the last.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me early access to this book! It was downright lovely. Anna Sortino is an author to watch for her ability to make the most heartwarming stories with characters who are so easy to care for.

On the Bright Side is a fantastic book that depicts what it's like for a teen girl who is deaf and grows up in a hearing household. When the school for the deaf she attends is closed, our main character is forced to move back home and attend a normal public school. Through this story we see the challenges she faces both at home and at school as she adjusts to a new life. In the midst of this, she meets a boy who seems to be the only one who truly understands her. This is a sweet book that also opens the readers eyes to what it's like to live with a hearing disability.

It was such a cute story. It was easy to care for the two protagonists and embark on their journey. Their perspective was different, but realistic and the way they supported each other throughout the whole book was great. We need more books like this one where teens can identify themselves and embrace their uniqueness. Would definitely recommend to my students.

I read Sortino's Give Me a Sign and loved it so I had some high expectations for this one, and it did not disappoint! I love the characters and how we were really able to see them grow in this books. Also great representation! I bought this book for our collection, and it's been checked out ever since!

This title is a sweet coming-of-age story that centers a deaf main character who struggles to finish high school after her school specifically for deaf and hard-of-hearing children is closed due to lack of funding. I appreciated getting to know Ellie and her personality shines on the page. I had the pleasure of reading Anna Sortino's debut novel Give Me a Sign last summer, and I got the same feel good energy from On the Bright Side. I will always be happy to read and review this author's work!

Wow. This book will make you feel so many things! I requested this book because I'm an ASL interpreter with a lot of work in schools so I try to get my hands on any books with Deaf/Hard of Hearing characters. Ellie's part of the story was gut-wrenching, from losing her community at the Deaf school to navigating life in a hearing family and school. I loved the student perspective with her two interpreters as well. Jackson's story line was equally eye-opening and tear-jerking as he struggles to find a new normal for himself as well. Their high school romance was so sweet to watch develop and felt very genuine.

"On the Bright Side" by Anna Sortino is a heartwarming and uplifting novel that skillfully balances humor with touching moments of personal growth. Its relatable characters and engaging narrative offer a refreshing and feel-good reading experience.