I don't think I've read a book centered in the deaf community before. I wonder if that says more about me or the publishing industry? In any case, I really appreciated that aspect of this book, and – ignorant as I am – I learned a lot about deaf culture, sign language, and the ethics of trying to "fix" hearing impairment.

I think my star rating would be higher if I understood the protagonist a bit better. She seemed like a good kid, but made choices that stressed me out. It almost felt like two novellas were spliced together: one that is a coming of age story set at a deaf school; another that was a much darker "take down Big Pharma" kind of book. Maybe since that's the essence of being a teenager – trying to reconcile disparate emotions and aspects of identity – it will work for most people. I'm just glad to be done with that stage of life, so the chaos feels unnecessary. :)