Thank you so much to PenguinTeenCanada for this arc!

I honestly chose this arc specifically because the synopsis sounded like my friend Jo's life and my first thought was "she needs to read this". So, with some finagling, I was able to send her a copy to read and review, and after hearing her thoughts I decided to pick it up sooner rather than later. If she ever gets around to writing a proper review, I'll probably edit this one and add it here because I don't think my thoughts would do this book justice.

I'm always hesitant when it comes to summer YA romances because most of them are just meh and I don't care too much about the plot and whatever the characters are going through. But the theme for me seems to be that if the book has diverse characters and representation, I'm 100% more likely to love it.

This book was so so good. It reminds me of how I felt after reading "Love from A to Z". That book was the kind of representation I needed as a kid, and as Jo told me, what she needed too. I'm so glad we live in a world where books like this now exist and I hope this book reaches all the Deaf kids and teenagers out there who want to see themselves as the main character in a book.

Were there some cringe parts? Yes. Did I care? No, lol. It was overall very cute and I was shipping the two characters from the beginning. Mackenzie did annoy me a lot, but I did like how everyone called her out on her behaviour. Lilah's interactions with the kids was probably my favourite, and I loved seeing her become more confident with ASL.

This book does have some heavier, more emotional parts that could be difficult for some people to read, but I think were important to capture the reality of living in a world that isn't very welcoming or understanding of Deaf folk.

If you're looking for a good summer YA contemporary and are hesitant like me, I highly recommend picking up this book. You won't be disappointed.