Show Me a Sign

by Ann Clare LeZotte

Mary Lambert has always felt safe among the deaf community of Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts where practically everyone communicates in a shared sign language, but recent events have shattered her life; her brother George has died, land disputes between English settlers and the Wampanoag people in the early 1800s are becoming increasingly bitter,

From the publisher website:

Mary Lambert has always felt safe and protected on her beloved island of Martha's Vineyard. Her great-great-grandfather was an early English settler and the first deaf islander. Now, over a hundred years later, many people there -- including Mary -- are deaf, and nearly everyone can communicate in sign language. Mary has never felt isolated. She is proud of her lineage.

But recent events have delivered winds of change. Mary's brother died, leaving her family shattered. Tensions over land disputes are mounting between English settlers and the Wampanoag people. And a cunning young scientist has arrived, hoping to discover the origin of the island's prevalent deafness. His maniacal drive to find answers soon renders Mary a "live specimen" in a cruel experiment. Her struggle to save herself is at the core of this penetrating and poignant novel that probes our perceptions of ability and disability. It will make you forever question your own ideas about what is normal.

Genres & Topics:

• Historical Fiction: Set in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts in 1800s
• Character with a disability: deafness
• Prejudice