Happy New Year! The holidays were fun for me, spending time with family and traveling to Los Angeles for New Year’s. I had the chance to read two books, the first being The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais, and the subject of today’s review.

Maya Harris, her mother and her younger brother have just moved to Colorado from New Jersey. Deaf since the age of 13, Maya has to attend a hearing school for her senior year of high school. Despite having interpreter Kathleen who helps her navigate her classes, Maya still feels out of place among her peers. But with the help of new friends Nina and Beau, she begins to find her way, focusing on her studies and her college future. When Beau begins learning sign language to communicate with Maya, she tries to figure out what his intentions are and the complicated dynamic of their two different worlds.

I absolutely loved this book because of several reasons. First of all, it has a Deaf protagonist, which you don’t see in a lot of YA novels. Second, the story offers an honest portrayal of American Sign Language, or ASL. When Maya or another person signs, the sentences are translated in a structure that ASL uses, different from normal English sentences. An example is, “FRIEND ASK ME IF I WORK WITH HER TODAY FOR M-I-D-T-E-R-M, I explained. WE PARTNERS. (p. 83). It created a different kind of dialogue than I’m used to and made for some interesting interactions, especially for the chemistry scenes between Maya and Beau.

Maya also experiences the misconceptions that people have about those who are Deaf. There are a few incidents throughout the story that involve others questioning her capability of doing certain activities due to her “disability” and whether she wants a cochlear implant. Maya doesn’t hesitate to set them straight that people who are Deaf can live fulfilling and successful lives. Gervais clearly did her research when writing this novel.

I recommend The Silence Between Us to everybody because of its realistic portrayal of a Deaf teenager and the opportunity to learn more about the Deaf community in general.

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