Five Flavors of Dumb

Five Flavors of Dumb

by Antony John

Piper is a seventeen-year-old high school senior, and she's just been challenged to get her school's super-popular rock band, Dumb, a paying gig. The catch? Piper is deaf. Can she manage a band with five wildly different musicians, nurture a budding romance, and discover her own inner rock star, though she can't hear Dumb's music? (description from Amazon.com)

I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to read, it had heart and it made me laugh. I liked Piper's character a lot. Yes, she had her sarcastic, typical angsty teen moments, but she was also tough and determined to make her own way in the world. I loved her connection to music, even as she acknowledged that she couldn't hear it and would never experience it the same way as everyone else could. I loved the way that this family dealt with their issues and came together as a stronger unit by the end of the story.

For a touching and uplifting,l easy to read book this summer, think about picking up this book!


Wonderstruck

Wonderstruck
by Brian Selznick

Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing. (description from Amazon.com)

Just like The Invention of Hugo Cabret, this is a beautiful work of art, as well as a touching story. Selznick's black and white illustrations are fabulous. I just love the way he does his books!

In this particular story, both Ben and Rose have their own individual tales, but I loved how they came together at the end. It was really lovely. Not only were the stories interesting, but I learned quite a bit about how people who are hearing impaired experience the world. The author even mentions all of the research that he did prior to writing the book and how one of his relatives in deaf... I think that this aspect of the book makes it very important, because it makes talking about deafness and its effects so accessible.

Though this book is very big, it is a quick, fun read. I would highly recommend it to reluctant readers, well really to anyone!