“Read My Lips” Review

Fitting in at high school can be a struggle for any 16-year-old. For Serena Nelson, the new girl in school who just happens to be deaf, fitting in is nearly impossible. That she even wants to fit in is a surprise to Serena. She has always been her own person, not allowing her lack of hearing to stop her from anything. Suddenly, she wants more. Her parents have moved to a new area so that she has more chances to "be like everyone else". The question is, how far is Serena willing to go in order to have friends and be like the other girls in her new school?

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book, Teri Brown's debut novel. My problems have more to do with my own aversion to swearing than anything that Brown did wrong. Her characters are very fun and believable. I knew I would like Serena right away, when she made her history teacher feel foolish in her attempts to communicate with Serena through sign language. Some of the other characters, Patrice in particular, took some getting used to. Reading about them took me back to my own high school years. I can definitely think of a Rachel, Patrice, and yes, even Sonya from my graduating class.

In most books, the main character learns something and "grows up" a little between the first and the last page. In this novel, so much more than that happened. I liked the way all of these teenagers (well, most anyway) grew up throughout the story. They made their feelings for themselves and each clearly known.

My favorite thing about this book is the way Serena paid for her mistakes. She made a lot of them, and she never once made excuses. She didn't blame anyone else or say something like "the devil made me do it." Serena made a lot of mistakes, but she showed that she must have been raised right—she accepted responsibility for what she did wrong and took the punishment when needed.

This was a very enjoyable, very believable novel. I look forward to reading more from Teri Brown in the future.