This isn’t a sequel to author Alex Gino’s Stonewall Award-winning Melissa
, but is similarly insightful and warm. Instead of focusing on a transgender identity as in Melissa, Gino in their second novel looks closely at race and Deaf culture. Twelve-year-old Jilly, who is White and hearing, has a new baby sister who is Deaf, and is friends online with a Deaf, Black boy her own age. She wants to do the right things to support her sister and friend, but makes some mistakes as she tries to understand their perspectives. An aunt who is Black and raising two children with her spouse is among those offering her guidance, especially in dealing with racist relatives. Gino commendably goes beyond superficial messages to dig into subtler systemic racism, and also tackles one of racism’s most pernicious manifestations–the shooting of a Black teen by police.
In an Author’s Note, Gino identifies their own privilege in being White and hearing, and says, “This book is consciously written for white people as a catalyst to talk about modern racism and police violence in the United States.” The most important lesson of the story, I believe, is that topics such as racism and ableism can be uncomfortable, but that is no excuse for White, conventionally abled people to avoid them–Gino, through Jilly, doesn’t, and nor should others.
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