Whisper - Softcover

Keighery, Chrissie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1921759321 ISBN 13: 9781921759321

Publisher: Hardie Grant Children's Publishing, 2015

Synopsis

A beautifully written coming-of-age tale about a 15-year-old girl whose life is altered by sudden deafness

I'm always trying to figure out what's really going on. Always having to fill in the gaps, but never getting all the details. It's like trying to do a jigsaw when I don't even know what the picture is, and I'm missing one of the vital middle pieces.

How do you know if your friends are talking about you being your back, or if a boy likes you? They could act all innocent, but you'd know from the rumors. You'd hear the whispers. But what if you couldn't hear those whispers anymore? Being a teenager is hard enough. But what about being a deaf teenager? Demi is 15 years old when her world is shattered by illness. Waking up in hospital, she can see people are talking and moving around her, but she can hear nothing. As the days and weeks pass, it becomes clear that Demi is locked in a silent world and this is a world she must now learn to navigate. This unique, touching story explores the universal theme of finding your place, against a fascinating backdrop.

About this title

From the Author

Chrissie Keighery is the author of Flower Girl, The Secret Club, and Surf's Up! under the pseudonym Chrissy Perry.

From School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up—Demi, 16, lost her hearing due to meningitis when she was 14 years old. Once a hearing person, she finds it particularly difficult to deal with her deafness. Her mother wants to control her, her father is a silent bystander, and her perfect sister has her own issues. And who are her true friends: The ones from her hearing days or the ones she is attempting to make at her new school for the deaf? This Australian import brings to light a fresh and important issue in teen literature. Demi is like any other teenager, concerned about clothes, boys, and grades. She has hopes of becoming a lawyer. But she feels that her hearing friends and the hearing community at large are not making it easy. The protagonist befriends a deaf girl who is out to make herself a change agent for the deaf, regardless of whom she runs over in the meantime, and who frowns upon Demi's hearing friends and new boyfriend. Thoughtfully depicting the ways in which "hearies" treat the deaf, Keighery makes great strides in portraying well-rounded characters. Filled with subtle reminders of how the hearing world often considers and treats the deaf community, this novel may serve as a gentle wake up call to teens that not everyone with a disability is so very different. Particularly poignant is how Demi's young nephews treat her, as if her deafness is just one more distinguishing part of who she is. This book also contains some Aussie words and expressions, which add to its charm. VERDICT Highly recommended for teens who like to explore social issues and for fans of realistic fiction.—Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools, OH

About this edition

• Publisher: Hardie Grant Children's Publishing
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1921759321
• ISBN 13: 9781921759321
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288