Amanda is a sulky, spoiled teen stuck on a small island off the coast of New England for the summer with her parents. Jake is a deaf teen who lives on the island. He communicates using a mix of ASL and speaking/lip-reading. The dated 80s references are occasionally, unintentionally hilarious, and the writing is quite dire in some places (including some glaring, repeated spelling errors, such as confusing peak/pique). But the depiction of deafness is really well done, as is the description of ASL and lip-reading. About half the narration is from Jake's POV. Amanda is kind of a brat, but Jake emerges as a really interesting, well-rounded character.
Anyone can understand the language of love
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
This is a touching story about two very different teenagers who meet and fall in love while living on a remote Island one Summer. Jake is deaf and because of that stays apart from the world,making his way through it, but not really living in it. Amanda is a typical, pretty, teenage party girl who at firsts hates being forced to vacation on the Island with her family and longs to be at home with her friends and popular , seemingly ideal Boyfriend. She meets Jake and despite the difficulties in communicating with and breaking through his shell, she strikes up a friendship with him. Over the Summer, Amanda truly lives in Jake's world and starts seeing things through his eyes and although, they both deny their true feelings for each other at first they fall in love. The one thing I really hated about this book was the detailed subplot about being a fisherman's son and catching lobsters and the routine on a fishing boat, ect. I thought it was boring, overdone and not absolutely necessary to the story. However, the story was well written and , although I doubt there will ever be a sequel because this seems like an only book, but I am curious about Amanda & Jake- I would love to read about what happened to them in the future and if their love lasted.
Teen Romance Is A Good Start
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
I'm still in awe, of this books, it's depth is so small, but so well understood. I was a teen when I first read this, and it tickled me in the best ways. I loved it and still do.
Great story, very down to earth
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
This is a great story for adolescents. The characters are very believeable and interesting. It is a wonderful read for helping young adults grappling with understanding how to treat someone who is deaf. It is also a wonderful story in and of itself.
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