I enjoyed this a lot. Although Ben was only deaf in one ear for a brief period I did enjoy his perspective during that time. It was really interesting to be able to really know what Ben was talking about and how he was feeling in the start of the novel. I am also half deaf and found myself relating to what Ben was thinking and laughing at myself because Ben's actions and reactions to some things were quite similar to mine.

Ben is quite young in this novel and is having to share a bedroom with a family member around his age. The author didn't sugarcoat Ben's deafness which I liked, Ben still got teased by his roommate. Young children who are not deaf often find it hard to get their head around the idea of someone not being able to hear everything. Living in the same boat that Ben lived in I can definitely confirm that it's a hard life and being deaf sucks. But we live with it and that's what Ben was doing. Until... he got hit by lightning.

Because I am deaf I sometimes find it hard to believe that people can live their lives with full hearing. I was born half deaf, so I have never known a different life. I feel like the world is already too loud and I really don't know what I would do if all of a sudden I was to lose the hearing that I do have. Given the circumstances and his age I thought he handled everything quite well. My main problem with what happened and how Ben got to NYC was that he was left alone in a hospital. While he didn't have a mother, he did still have some family. Can someone honestly tell me that none of them could have stayed with him?

All I can say is that Ben has some REALLY bad luck.