These links show the original reading lists. Inclusion is not a guarantee of suitability for your child.
Anna Sortino - Author
A coming-of-age story about finding community while questioning where one belongs. Lilah’s summer at a Deaf and blind camp combines friendship, first love and self-acceptance with exploration of ASL, hearing devices and different Deaf experiences.
Lilah returns to a Deaf and blind summer camp while feeling caught between hearing and Deaf worlds and uncertain about her place within Deaf culture.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The story appears to present Deaf identity as varied and complex, while following Lilah’s movement towards greater self-understanding.
Talk about: Does Lilah’s experience broaden her understanding of belonging, and which assumptions about identity does the book invite readers to reconsider?
Communication and access
Lilah has used hearing aids, FM units and lip reading, seeks ASL, and encounters people with different relationships to oral communication and cochlear implants.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The book appears to explore communication choices and access as lived experiences rather than presenting one single route as universally correct.
Talk about: How does the story distinguish personal communication preference from pressure to fit a particular hearing or Deaf norm?
Romance and communication
Lilah develops a relationship with Isaac at camp; one account describes him withdrawing after a traumatic situation instead of explaining that he was not ready to talk.MixedMixed: the book presents both supportive and critical signals.Mixed: the book presents both supportive and critical signals.
How the book presents it: The romance is presented as a light subplot, but communication failures create additional stress and may offer material for discussing emotional responsibility.
Talk about: If someone withdraws after a difficult experience, what might respectful communication and boundaries look like for both people?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
It may invite thoughtful discussion about identity without reducing Deafness to a single experience. Lilah’s uncertainty about belonging, alongside her growing use of ASL and connection with others, gives the story an interpersonal focus.
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What Deserves Attention
Expect romance as a subplot, including Lilah’s relationship with Isaac. The book also includes belittling or restricting ASL, condescending behaviour, hearing-device choices, and a frightening interaction with police.
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A Conversation Worth Having
How might a reader understand Lilah’s feeling that she is not fully at home in either hearing or Deaf communities? If communication becomes difficult between characters, what alternatives to silence or assumptions might they consider?
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Reading Approach
Read alongside a conversation about the range of Deaf and hard-of-hearing experiences rather than treating Lilah as representative of everyone. Pause after distressing scenes, especially police-related fear or interpersonal withdrawal, if needed.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Belonging and Deaf identity: The ending and the full extent of Lilah’s resolution are not established.
Communication and access: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Romance and communication: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Suitabook