El Deafo is a funny, deeply honest graphic novel memoir for middle graders. It chronicles the author's hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with a powerful and very awkward hearing aid called the Phonic Ear. It gives her the ability to hear-sometimes things she shouldn't-but also isolates her from her classmates. She really just wants to fit in and find a true friend, someone who appreciates her, Phonic Ear and all. Finally, she is able to harness the power of the Phonic Ear and become "El Deafo, Listener for All." And more importantly, declare a place for herself in the world and find the friend she's longed for.
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I was a regular little kid. - One
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(Amulet Books, 1 September 2014, e-book, 248 pages, borrowed from Glasgow Libraries via Overdrive, Popsugar Reading Challenge, A Book By A Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing Author)
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I loved El Deafo. I devoured this graphic novel in two days. It's a memoir but I didn't realise this until I'd started to read the book and look it up online because I wanted to find out more about it. It's a sweet book about being deaf when you're a child without being preachy or condescending. The author is able to hear at school due to a device called a Phonic Ear. The ear requires her teachers to wear a microphone when they talk. The microphone allows her to hear her teacher even when they aren't in the classroom. She decides this is a superpower. I loved how positive the book is for the most part even when the author, a child in the book struggles to fit in and hates feeling different. This is a beautiful book. I'd recommend it.
