Give Me a Sign - Softcover

Sortino, Anna

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0593533801 ISBN 13: 9780593533802

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2024

Synopsis

Jenny Han meets CODA in this big-hearted YA debut about first love and Deaf pride at a summer camp. Now in paperback!

Lilah is stuck in the middle. At least, that’s what having a hearing loss seems like sometimes—when you don’t feel “deaf enough” to identify as Deaf or hearing enough to meet the world’s expectations. But this summer, Lilah is ready for a change.

When Lilah becomes a counselor at a summer camp for the deaf and blind, her plan is to brush up on her ASL. Once there, she also finds a community. There are cute British lifeguards who break hearts but not rules, a YouTuber who’s just a bit desperate for clout, the campers Lilah’s responsible for (and overwhelmed by)—and then there’s Isaac, the dreamy Deaf counselor who volunteers to help Lilah with her signing.

Romance was never on the agenda, and Lilah’s not positive Isaac likes her that way. But all signs seem to point to love. Unless she’s reading them wrong? One thing’s for sure: Lilah wanted change, and things here . . . they're certainly different than what she’s used to.

About this title

About the Author

Anna Sortino is a young adult author who writes stories about disabled characters living their lives and falling in love. She’s Deaf and passionate about diverse representation in media. Born and raised in the Chicagoland area, Anna has since lived in different cities from coast to coast, spending her free time exploring nature with her dog or reading on the couch with her cat. Give Me a Sign is her debut novel. You can find her at AnnaSortino.com or @AnnaKSortino.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

A guy about my age is standing there in a blue baseball cap and a Cubs T-shirt that fits him perfectly. He looks like he be­longs in the team’s dugout, although his hat has a cursive L on the front that I don’t recognize. A small tuft of hair curls at his forehead. He has a warm-brown complexion and kind, dark eyes that are set on me. He’s standing with his hands loosely clasped together, ready to sign, with a woven bracelet around his wrist, perhaps from last summer.

My heart is racing, and I’m not sure if it’s from lifting the bag or from realizing who helped me.

“Thank you,” I say breathlessly.

“You’re welcome,” he signs. He points past me and signs something else.

I freeze. I want to answer him in sign, but I’m unsure exactly what he’s asking. He gives a small shrug, likely knowing that I didn’t understand, and walks around me to grab his backpack from his bunk . . . which is directly below mine. Of all the beds I could have chosen! At least he won’t be able to hear me if I snore in my sleep.

“Are you new this year?” he asks, this time mouthing the words a little bit, which I know is purely for my benefit.

“Um, no,” I say, begging my brain to remember any of the ASL I practiced. “Long time ago, I was here,” I say and sign. “As a camper.”

“Wait . . . ” He tilts his head to the side. His wonderfully ex­pressive eyebrows do a lot of communicating for him as he raises them and leans forward. “I think I remember you. Bug, right?”

“Whoa,” I say and sign. “Yes! You were a camper here, too?” I am certain I would remember him.

“Yeah, and then ————,” he signs. I don’t follow most of his response, but he raises his hand from his chest to his head, signing that he’s grown taller. “I look different, maybe.”

“Oh right, good,” I say and sign, nodding while my brain races to try to process more of what he signed.

“Good?” he asks, his eyebrows raised and a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Good, as in, I think I remember you now, too,” I say and sign quickly, cursing my limited vocabulary and feeling the blush rise on my cheeks. I stare down at his worn running sneakers that are caked in dry mud and laced with bright-green cords.

“I’m I————,” he signs.

“Sorry,” I say, hoping that my frustration at my lacking ASL doesn’t come across as overly apologetic. “Again, please.”

He smiles and patiently spells out his name again. “I-s-a-a-c.”

“L-i-l-” But my hand is shaking, and I mess up, jumbling my letters. I close my hand into a fist, take a brief pause, and start again. “L-i-l-a-h.”

Edition details

• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0593533801
• ISBN 13: 9780593533802
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336