Show Me a Sign
Ann Clare LeZotte
Scholastic, 2020
288 pages
Grades 5-8
Historical Fiction

Mary has lived her entire life in early 1800's Martha's Vineyard. Although deaf, Mary has never felt out of place. In fact, in her part of the island a vast amount of residents are deaf and everyone, even those who can hear, speak in a sign language specific to their community. Mary and her family are deep in mourning over the loss of her beloved brother when a stranger arrives on the island. He is a scientist eager to study the community to try to discover environmental, cultural, or biological reasons for the significant cases of deafness. The community warily cooperates, though Mary soon discovers that the scientist has nefarious intentions and treats deaf folks as less than human. Unfortunately, the scientist also exhibits an obvious dislike of Mary and the book takes an expected turn as he will do anything to get what he wants, including her cooperation. Meanwhile, Mary is also struggling against the prejudice display by some of the community residents, including her best friends and even her mother, towards the local Wampanoag and black folks within their midst. How can Mary keep the peace, all while getting rid of the evil researcher and surviving his cruel plans?

Books featuring deaf characters are few and far between. This well-researched piece of historical fiction by an own voices author explores how the world perceived deafness in the not-so-distant past, as well as the treatment of native people and those of color. Mary's community on Martha's Vineyard actually did exist and they invented their own sign language. Deaf folks were considered "normal", as opposed to the view of the rest of the world, as Mary's experiences first hand. The book starts off predictable and slow. It felt a bit like reading Little House on the Prairie, but then takes off in a crazy turn and I couldn't put the book down. There are periods of violence that may disturb younger or sensitive readers, making the story more for older elementary or middle school. Great for a discussion on how race and physical differences were viewed in the past, readers will see that in many ways the "good old days" were not all they are cracked up to be. Mary proves to be a brave and resilient hero and will serve as an inspiration to all readers, hearing and non-hearing alike.