Tag Archives: Disability

Review : Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

Middle-grade book review Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

My Thoughts after Reading

This middle-grade book is about a girl and her determination to help a lonely whale.

Iris is the only deaf girl in her school. Her mother wanted her to go to a mainstream school but she has difficulty fitting in. One day in Science, the teacher shows them the video of a whale that communicates in a different frequency to all the other whales. Its story moves Iris and she wants to do something to signal to the whale it is not alone in this big wide world.

This is an amazing read on many levels. It is very easy to get behind Iris, who feels isolated in school. She is also grieving for her grandfather. She had hoped to find solace in her grandmother, but her grandmother has withdrawn into her shell. In her pursuit of the whale, I learnt about oceanography and the work carried out. I also like the uniqueness of a girl tinkering with broken radios, let alone a deaf girl adept at mending vintage ones.

This books allows us to see deaf people as intelligent beings with needs and wants just like anybody. A must-read.

If this has captured your attention, here are some key dates coming up you might be interested in:

International Week of the Deaf 21-25 Sep 2020
International Day of Sign Language 23 Sep 2020
World Hearing Day 3 Mar 2021

Goodreads Blurb

The story of a deaf girl’s connection to a whale whose song can’t be heard by his species, and the journey she takes to help him.

From fixing the class computer to repairing old radios, twelve-year-old Iris is a tech genius. But she’s the only deaf person in her school, so people often treat her like she’s not very smart. If you’ve ever felt like no one was listening to you, then you know how hard that can be.

When she learns about Blue 55, a real whale who is unable to speak to other whales, Iris understands how he must feel. Then she has an idea: she should invent a way to “sing” to him! But he’s three thousand miles away. How will she play her song for him?

Justine Laismith’s Books:

Left behind in the mountains, a desperate boy harnesses a cure from the Great Fire Tree. Even when its dark powers brings tragedy, he believes it will bring his mother home again. For readers 11-14 years. More info

A harried mother wants to stay one step ahead of her children’s antics and experiments with the Magic Mixer. A machine invented by a female scientist and engineer, it gives her special animal abilities. But choosing the right animal proves more difficult that she thought. For readers for 6-9 years. More info

Review : Bronze and Sunflower by Cao Wenxuan

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Book Review of Bronze and Sunflower by Cao Wenxuan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Thoughts after Reading

This middle-grade book takes you to the rural areas of China. Bronze and Sunflower are names of two children whose brought together by destiny. Bronze loses his ability to speak after an illness. Sunflower is orphaned when her father drowns in an accident. Right from the outset, when Bronze catches Sunflower being bullied, he came to her defence. This connection carried on throughout the book, even after Sunflower was adopted into the family.

The story takes an idyllic stroll through rural China. It is almost like a compilation of short stories surrounding the lives of Bronze and Sunflower. I got a lot out of reading about their lifestyles, from agriculture to making reed shoes to building roofs made of cogongrass. The struggles of family is demonstrated through various incidents and disasters. Despite their poverty, there is a lot of love in that family.

While Sunflower was orphaned at a young age, she remained a sunshine to all those she met. Bronze is a lovely boy who deserves so much more. He is intelligent, caring and loyal. I wished life was fairer to him. I would say the ending was bittersweet.

PS. If you’ve enjoyed this book, Secrets of the Great Fire Tree is another book set in rural China. Whilst Bronze and Sunflower is set during the Cultural Revolution, Secrets of the Great Fire Tree is set at the start of China’s economic boom.

Goodreads Blurb

When Sunflower, a young city girl, moves to the countryside, she grows to love the reed marsh lands – the endlessly flowing river, the friendly buffalo with their strong backs and shiny, round heads, the sky that stretches on and on in its vastness. However, the days are long, and the little girl is lonely. Then she meets Bronze, who, unable to speak, is ostracized by the other village boys. Soon the pair are inseparable, and when Bronze’s family agree to take Sunflower in, it seems that fate has brought him the sister he has always longed for. But life in Damaidi is hard, and Bronze’s family can barely afford to feed themselves. Can the little city girl stay here, in this place where she has finally found happiness?

A classic, heartwarming tale set to the backdrop of the Chinese cultural revolution.

Justine Laismith’s Books:

Review: Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

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Book review on Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

This book is not as long as standard middle grade books, so it’s perfect for the younger middle-grade readers who are ready to move on from chapter books.

The story is inspired by Norse mythology. Thor, Odin and Loki being our main supporting cast to Odd, a boy crippled when his leg was crushed in an accident. The Norse Gods are on Earth and make the journey back to their home Asgard with Odd.

It is a heart-warming tale of a courageous boy, who did not let his accident nor his cruel step-father break his spirit. If you are looking for a mythology book on resilience, in a wintry setting, starring a main character with a disability, check this one out. 3/5

Goodreads Blurb

The winter isn’t ending. Nobody knows why.
And Odd has run away from home, even though he can barely walk and has to use a crutch.
Out in the forest he encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle – three creatures with a strange story to tell.
Now Odd is faced with a stranger journey than he had ever imagined.
A journey to save Asgard, City of the Norse Gods, from the Frost Giants who have invaded it.
It’s going to take a very special kind of boy to defeat the most dangerous of all the Frost Giants and rescue the mighty Gods. Someone cheerful and infuriating and clever.
Someone just like Odd…

Review : A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sarah Barnard

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Book review on A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard

Our heroine is a selective mute. She is incredibly introverted and has social anxiety. A few years ago her uncle suggested she learnt British Sign Language so she had a choice how she wanted to communicate. It is this knowledge that she was asked to help a new boy settle in their sixth form. He is deaf.

Like The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, this is a book about two teenagers trying to live normal lives despite their situations. You can see how our heroine grows in self-confidence, but also see that her struggles are real.

The pacing slowed in the middle, but I’m sure an actual young adult reading it would think differently. They were depicted very well in the book. Nevertheless, the characters were compelling enough for me to be patient. The ending was sweet.

Overall, this is a lovely story about teenagers starting new lives post-16. They make new friends, keep old ones, experience first love and dip their toes towards independence. Because of the pacing in the middle, if one might allow decimals, I rate this 2.75/5*.

Goodreads Blurb

Steffi doesn’t talk, but she has so much to say.
Rhys can’t hear, but he can listen.
Their love isn’t a lightning strike, it’s the rumbling roll of thunder.

Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life – she’s been silent for so long that she feels completely invisible. But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He’s deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she’s assigned to look after him. To Rhys, it doesn’t matter that Steffi doesn’t talk, and as they find ways to communicate, Steffi finds that she does have a voice, and that she’s falling in love with the one person who makes her feel brave enough to use it.

From the bestselling author of Beautiful Broken Things comes a love story about the times when a whisper is as good as a shout.