Book Review by Aarene Storms: El Deafo

El Deafo by Cece Bell

​Memoirist Cece Bell had normal hearing until she was four years old, when a bout of meningitis left her profoundly deaf. She started school in a class for deaf children, but when the family moved, the new school integrated Cece into a class of normally-hearing students.

Cece is lonely in the new place, and yearns for a friend and for a normal life. Lip-reading in a classroom is difficult, but an oversized "Phonic Ear" microphone allows her to hear everything the teacher says in the classroom -- and, awkwardly, anywhere on the school campus (for example: in the ladies' room). She eventually tells the other kids that the Phonic Ear gives her superpowers, and dubs herself "El Deafo: Listener for All."

Cece's ongoing attempts to make friends and "be more normal" make for a charming story, and the illustrations (which resemble Homer Simpson-esque characters with bunny ears) are sweet and funny.

Winner of the 2015 Newberry Honor award. Recommended for readers ages 12 and up. No sex, no cussing, lots of bunnies.

The events may not have happened; still, the story is true.  --R. Silvern

Aarene Storms, youth services librarian
Richmond Beach and Lake Forest Park Libraries, KCLS