This was a great book! The writing was amazing and the plot was very interesting. I loved the disability rep

After reading give me a sign, I was really glad I got the chance to read the ARC for on the bright side.

I really loved this book and once I started it was hard to put down. As with all of Anna’s work, the disability representation is amazing and gives me a new perspective. As a partner of a hard of hearing person, Anna’s books really make me think critically about the accessibility of the world around me even in terms of my own relationship and household.

I highly recommend reading this book both for the information and experiences that clearly shine through the characters, but for a YA rom com that will have you giggling and kicking your feet throughout.

This is the second book by Anna Sortino that I've read and I can already tell that her writing is getting better and better. I was EATING On the Bright Side up and was invested in both characters storylines. It was very beneficial to the story to see two sides of disability, one of someone who has been disabled her entire life and has accepted it and another from someone who gets diagnosed with a disability through the course of the novel and has to reckon with how his life is fundamentally different now. It was just so good I don't have a ton of words for it, but make sure to pick this up when it comes out!!

Thank you so much for letting me read this! I have MS and was so excited to see a book with MS rep written by an author with MS! I hope we can get more books with MS rep in them.

I loved this author’s book Give Me a Sign and was so happy and excited to get an ARC of this book (thank you NetGalley and the publisher)!

This book follows Ellie and Jackson, two teenagers handling different experiences. Ellie goes to a deaf centered school and it closes - leaving her to be immersed in a hearing school which she is not happy about. She also struggles with her family, because they don’t use ASL and expect her to always understand what’s going on. Jackson is a soccer star whose health takes a turn.

Things I loved about this book:
This book felt raw and real for the teenager experience. Ellie and Jackson are flawed, lovable characters that you root for!
Ellie’s anger was so understandable and I felt for her.
Jackson’s frustration was relatable and I loved how he embraced his vulnerability with Ellie.
Even though that first kiss was a little stressful, it was 👌🏻
I liked how Ellie stood up to her parents.
Loved the Deaf community Ellie found in this book!
Teenage sexual experiences are often messy and are not perfect. This was portrayed so well between these two characters who were figuring things out together.
Loved that NYE party 🥹
Such a great ending!!

Fully recommend picking this one up.

I loved seeing how Ellie and Jackson tackled their life changes both separately and together. I can't wait to see what Sortino writes next!!

On the Bright Side is a sweet romance that is perfect for fans of shows like Switched at Birth. This story features disability representation in a multitude of ways and has a love story that will not fail to make you smile. Pick this book up for yourself when it releases and see for yourself why everyone is falling in love with On the Bright Side.

This story drew me in from the very first page. Both Ellie and Jackson’s journey is undoubtedly challenging and managed to work their way through it together. I technically started this book about only 20 pages into it already this morning and finished it hours later because that is how hooked I was to this story.

I was so invested in the growing bond between Ellie and Jackson. The message this book sends is such a touching one. This book had me feeling all the feelings and I am not at all complaining.

If I had to critique ANYTHING (very minor) but there was a scene where Ellie and Jackson have a conflict and it was not really resolved. It was understandable as to why but I kinda wanted the two characters to discuss the matter in means to move past it.

Overall, the story concluded the storylines smoothly! Anna Sortino, thank you for this brilliant story! And to Penguin Teen, thank you so much for the egalley access! Can’t wait for its official release!

Such a lovely story with great disability representation. I thought the writing style used to showcase the use of sign language was very well done, and I loved the character growth throughout.

I really like how the author shows the differences of two different disabilities. She has a way of captivating me with her stories. I enjoy how she italicizes whenever ASL is used in the story. It helps me visualize the conversation in my head. I liked how the two main characters didn't always understand what was going on with the other but then opened up and let each other in. This book is a fantastic read.

4.5⭐️
Rep: deaf, MS
Thank you so much to Penguin Teen for an e-ARC! I enjoyed the author’s first book Give Me A Sign, but this was even better in my opinion! Not only is this a YA contemporary about deaf pride, this also deals with MS and the diagnosis’ physical and emotional journey. I can’t speak for MS specifically, but seeing Jackson’s life change so fast after being diagnosed was very relatable and would be for anyone with a chronic illness.
Besides the rep, this was a super cute YA high school romance!
The only negative thing I have to say is that Ellie’s character annoyed me a bit, especially in the first half.
Other than that, I really enjoyed this one, and I’m excited to see more from this author!

This was a decent read! I had loved Give Me A Sign and I do think this one is a little bit of a step down from that. The development in both the characters and the relationship fell a little flat for me.

That being said, I loved Ellie and Jackson! They both changed so much in the book and their romance was cute!

There is deaf rep and MS rep in this book. I'm not in the position to comment on the rep but wanted to make people aware of it.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

On the Bright Side does not come out until July of 2024, so this review is definitely early! After reading Sortino's debut novel, Give Me a Sign, I was excited to see that she was already coming out with another book, On the Bright Side. I immediately requested it, and as soon as the request was approved, I immediately downloaded the widget so that I could begin reading. One of the things that I love about Sortino's books is the representation that they have. OTBS (On the Bright Side) has disability and deaf representation, and both of these show that living life with these disabilities is not a monolithic experience. Ellie's Deaf school, Brandview, has been shut down, and now she must return home for her senior year of high school and live with her parents again and go to a mainstream school. Jackson is also a senior and star athlete, but when he starts experiencing various symptoms that make even walking nearly impossible, he is forced to confront a very scary and sobering diagnosis that will leave him wondering what his future will even look like. Jackson and Ellie probably seem like an unlikely pair from the beginning, but they soon find out that they have a lot in common and become friends. Overall, I thought this was a pretty good book. I ended up giving it 3 out of 5 stars, unlike Give Me a Sign, which I gave 5 out of 5 stars. I think this one fell a bit flat for me at some points because some parts of the book/story felt repetitive. I also kind of wish Jackson's actual diagnosis was revealed sooner in the book because there was a lot of build up about what was actually wrong with him. Like I said, however, I enjoy the representation and I can't wait to see what Sortino comes up with next. If you are a fan of these books by Sortino, you should check out the movie CODA with Daniel Durant and Marlee Matlin, or the TV show Switched at Birth, which Durant and Matlin are also cast in. Thank you to the publisher for giving me a chance to read an early digital copy of this book!