Reviews with content warning for Child death - Show Me a Sign

Before I read Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte, I had absolutely no idea that the now affluent and elite Martha’s Vineyard was once an island populated by a deaf and hearing society where there was no prejudice against deaf or hard of hearing citizens in the 1800s. This poignant and emotional novel follows Mary Lambert, a twelve year old girl in 1805 Martha’s Vineyard. Growing up happily on the island with both deaf and hearing people knowing a village sign language, Mary was always able to share her stories and opinions. After her beloved brother George was killed in a horse cart crash, her family’s relationship is strained. It doesn’t help when a scientist, Andrew, arrives on the island to study the immense number of “deaf and dumb”, exposing Mary to the ableism that plagues the world outside the island. She also begins to realize how racist her fellow islanders are to the Wampanoag, freedmen, and Irish that populate the island as well. The climax of the book is when Mary begins to investigate Andrew’s studies and realizes that he plans to bring a “live specimen” with him back to Boston. When Andrew sees Mary investigating, he kidnaps her, forcing her to be his example of deafness. This is definitely an important book. Since I’m hearing, this novel taught me so much about what being deaf is like. LeZotte does an excellent job of pulling you into Mary’s head by highlighting every detail about deafness, like the differences between spoken English and sign language. As a historical dress lover, I definitely appreciated the specificities relating to the 1800s' lifestyle, like having Mary wear a stay, a type of corset. Although I felt that the detail was very important to the book, the pacing was entirely too slow for me. The first hundred pages of the book was just mundane and slice-of-life, and the ending felt really rushed. The resolution was too uncomplicated and smooth for my tastes, and the ending was a little disconnected from the rest of the book. I still found it a struggle to keep my focus on the story. Any criticism is at least a little made up for by historical accuracy and the awareness brought to the deaf community, which were this book’s greatest assets. It wasn’t my favorite read of the quarter. Even though it wasn’t my favorite, I am glad I read this book because I learned so much about ableism, racism, and sexism in the past, and it got me thinking about how those topics relate to modern times. I would recommend this book to fifth to eighth graders, but it is a relatively rewarding read for anyone.

Content Warnings

emily_mh's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I was completed immersed in and hooked by this story. LeZotte created a full and dynamic picture of a community on Martha's Vineyard in the early 19th century, with details such as how these people lived and worked, but more importantly displaying the social dynamics and culture of having a large Deaf population. It was so cool seeing Deaf people thrive in a community fully accessibly to them, and where our main character Mary was raised without any of the ableism that she would have faced on the mainland. On top of this the book explores the dynamic of white colonisers living alongside formerly enslaved Black people and the Wampanoag Nation. Too often white authors gloss over racism in historical fiction so it is so important that LeZotte addressed it in Show Me A Sign. Overall, the tone of the book felt like a more melancholy "Anne With An E" (I choose this adaptation specifically rather than the source material as AWAE also confronts social issues).

A lot of this book is confronting. It explicitly shows the violence of ableism, in particular the history of experimentation on disabled people. But it is so important to know about this and bring light to it as a lot of people, especially middle-graders, are likely unaware of how deep ableism runs.

Mary was a great MC. She's at a point in her life when she is learning so much about the world around her and questioning what she has been taught to believe. This made for a rich inner world and some fantastic character development. However, I also liked that Mary didn't have it all figured out by the end of the book, as most of the questions she was asking did not (and still do not) have simple answers. I was so emotionally tied up in her heartbreaking and hopeful story.

In sum, I loved this read and cannot wait to pick up the sequel!

Content Warnings

dawntin's review

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emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was a good book tackling ableism, racism, and the process of grief. The text was very informative and gave me valuable insight into a population of deaf people that can be overlooked. I thought the main character Mary was well-written; I loved how she asserted herself and her strength. The side characters were memorable and the villain’s behavior towards the deaf characters in the book was disgusting. The subplot about healing from the family tragedy connected well with the overall story. I think the subplot involving racism and the Wampanoag/vineyard villagers conflict could have been handled a bit better, since it was sort of sidelined towards the end. One thing I didn’t enjoy was how Mary is told at the end of the book

to model good behavior against others’ bad behavior. It’s true that she should continue being a good person, but she should also try to call people out if they’ve said something horrible.

Content Warnings