Give Me a Sign follows Lilah, a teen who is struggling with being stuck in the middle of not feeling “deaf enough” to identify as Deaf or hearing enough to meet the world’s rigid expectations. Lilah is ready for change and applies to be a counselor at Camp Grey Wolf, a summer camp for deaf and blind youth. Here, she hopes to brush up on her ASL and find community. Shortly after arriving, Lilah meets Isaac, a dreamy deaf counselor who is eager to help her with her signing, and though romance is not in her plan, Lilah is looking for change, and life at Camp Grey Wolf is definitely not what she expected.  

If you are a fan of Jenny Han, Kasie West, or Sandhya Menon, I think you will absolutely love Give Me a Sign, a joyful young adult romance that highlights Deaf pride and culture while tactfully shining light on some of the traumas that Deaf/Hard of Hearing individuals face. Full of emotion, summer camp nostalgia, and found community, this coming-of-age story is bound to hit you in all the right feels.  

Reading this for the second time, I enjoyed it even more. I feel like this is a truly original story and something we need more of. I love traveling back to summer camp and spending time with the campers. 

Though the romance was fast-acting, I still thought it was cute, especially for a YA romance. The show-stoppers for me were the amazing representation, the brutal truth of police interactions for folks with disabilities, and MacKenzie. I thought the way Anna Sortino used MacKenzie's character to show privilege, harmful arrogance and allyship, and growth was fantastic. 

Overall, this is a book that will bring readers back to summer camp with a cute romance, tough topics handled in an elegant and age-appropriate way, and ample self-growth from all characters. 

This was a well-done young adult fantasy dystopian novel. I really didn't know what my reaction was going to be, and I am glad I chose to go through with reading this one!

I was impressed by the world-building of the Skylands and the way that Marc J. Gregson captured classism through the low, mid, and high society members. Everything seemed to fit pretty well in explaining and setting up the world, so I felt comfortable with the story when things really kicked off.

I was of course immediately drawn in by the societal divide, Gargantons, and the Gauntlet. This story very much gave Divergent meets The Hunger Games meets YA Fourth Wing. 

One small thing that was a bit annoying while reading was that some of the language felt a bit silly and almost forced to be unique, like the constant use of "birdshit" as a name-call. With this being said, I am reading this from an adult perspective, and I think that the intended audience may be okay with the choice of language and even find it a silly addition to the story.  

For being a beefy book, it was fast-paced and definitely action-packed. The middle slowed pace a little bit, but I am very impressed by this debut novel, and I am curious and excited to pick up the second book when it comes out!

I truly thought I was going to LOVE this book much more than I did. This is not to say I didn't enjoy it, however!

I think this honestly was a case of "It's me, not you." Most of the stories were great, and I even wished a few of them were longer, even full-length stories, to spend more time with the characters in their worlds. I think the reason this fell a little flat for me is because I'm not a huge short-story reader. I have a difficult time finding a good transitional pace between stories and sometimes find myself rushing through them. 

All this being said, I still enjoyed reading these stories and exploring the variety of world-building and character creation. It was so nice to experience so many ace stories with other awesome rep, as well. I will definitely keep this book on my recommending radar. 

Wow...This book is a powerhouse of emotion.

Amber McBride created a dystopian story that so closely mirrors the society in which we currently live. Imogen's character portrays so much fear and emotion, determination to learn and understand. It was heartbreaking to read the raw fear that was built up inside her, knowing that those fears are very real for many Black and minority youth today.

McBride's writing is raw, beautiful, and emotion-filled. I am excited to explore more of her work.

Gone Wolf begins in a futuristic world where a young girl, known only as Inmate Eleven, is confined to a small-small room to be kept as a biological match to the President’s son should he become ill. She is also called a Blue because that is the color of her skin and hair due to all of her sadness. In present time, Imogen is living during the pandemic and is struggling with intense phobias and horrific nightmares. She has distanced herself from everyone but her mother and therapist until she meets a college student who helps her question the difference between being Blue and being Black. With writing so full of power, emotion, and consideration, readers will likely see a connection from the book to fear and racial injustices that are happening in our world today. This is a heavy and timely read, and it will hopefully empower young readers to use their voices and share their stories. 

This was a wild ride of a read!

Initially, I was pretty confused by the time jumps. the confusion didn't completely go away as I read on, however, the intense, horrifying, emotional plot had me invested the entire ride. 

This book is a surreal read, especially considering the current state of our society. The LGBTQ+ community is under attack, both visibly and more quietly like this book. 

This will be a dystopian read that will stick with me. 

Every Time You Go Away is an emotional story of two teens searching to find themselves in a challenging and unforgiving world. 

The story of Rebecca and Ethan is both cute and powerful. Although I did feel like a few aspects of the story could have been fleshed out a bit more, I think teen readers will enjoy the complicated relationships, the self-discovery, and the friends-to-lovers romance. 

I was having a difficult time focusing on the audiobook. DNF’d because of me, not the book. 

I wanted to love this one. The cover. The description. It all sounded so promising. Unfortunately, this story fell flat for me. I never quite found myself invested in the characters, and the romance plot was feeling really forced. DNF at 47%. I don't feel like a star rating is fair to give since I have not finished the book.