#READYOURWORLD: Hear Me by Kerry O'Malley Cerra
ABOUT THE BOOK
But her hearing keeps failing her. Even with hearing aids, she has trouble following conversations and hanging out with her friends the way she used to. Her grades are slipping, surfing is now a wipeout, and she can’t understand the lyrics of her favorite singer’s new songs. Rayne’s parents are pushing for her to get cochlear implants, which could restore her hearing―though she would hear sounds differently than she did before her hearing loss.
Rayne isn't convinced the surgery for CIs is worth the risks and challenges. In fact, she's terrified of it. She begs her parents to consider other options, but they're not budging.
With the surgery looming, Rayne sets off on a search for alternatives. Along the way, she discovers that “normal” can have many meanings―and that even though her ears may be broken, she is not.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kerry O’Malley Cerra is an award-winning author of middle grade books. Her first novel, Just a Drop of Water, landed on five state reading lists, won the Crystal Kite Award, a Florida Book Award, and was named to VOYA’s Top Shelf Fiction list for 2014. Her second novel, Hear Me, is out now. Stay tuned for her forthcoming books, Make a Little Wave, (Aug. 6, 2024 from Carolrhoda Books, Lerner Publishing) and a nonfiction picture book, The Gallaudet Eleven: The Story of NASA’s Deaf Bioastronauts (March 2026 from Little Brown BFYR). Kerry’s work has received praise from The New York Times, Kirkus, School Library Journal, Booklist, VOYA, and the Horn Book Guide calling her stories moving, perceptive, well-developed, and woven with an expert hand. Kerry lives in South Florida with her family and two poorly behaved rescue dogs.
Note: Biography comes from Kerry's website which you can visit here: kerryomalleycerra.com. Be sure to check out her fun list of additional information about herself, with photos!
REVIEW
Rayne loves to surf, but as with so much in her life, she may not be able to much longer. Her ability to balance on the surfboard suffers with her loss of hearing. On top of that her parents want her to get cochlear implants which she doesn't want. As she tries to get her parents to understand her feelings and desire to look at other options before making a decision that feels so permanent, Rayne also struggles to maintain her friendships, grades, and position as 7th grade class president. When her best efforts to convince her parents to wait on the implant surgery don't pan out, she throws caution to the wind and takes off in an effort to prove to her parents that a stem cell study is the better option for her. But things don't go the Rayne hopes or expects and she's left wondering if her parents are right after all.
Rayne's a sympathetic character from the beginning. Having her tell the story puts reader's right into her conflicted heart and mind as she struggles to accept the changes that her hearing loss is forcing into her life. Taking out words and using asterisks to indicate when Rayne hasn't heard a word gives readers a glimpse into what it's like for her and the tremendous efforts she must make to understand what people around her are saying. And above it all, Rayne feels unheard by her parents, teachers, and even her friends who don't understand the depth of her frustration. The author does a great job of putting readers into Rayne's shoes. Readers will also learn a lot about hearing loss and what it entails in terms of adaptations and possible treatments. There's also a brief introduction to deaf culture. An eye-opening and empathy-inspiring read that I highly recommend for middle grade readers.
BOOK TRAILER
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Great review! Thanks for participating in #ReadYourWorld!
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