Somewhere, someone is singing.

“I’d found him. He’d never know what he meant to me, but that was okay. I didn’t speak his language, and he didn’t need to be fixed. He was the whale who sang his own song.”

I almost didn’t read this book because I’ve found a lot times, it’s hard for me to connect to Deaf characters written by hearing people.

I’m Deaf, I wear hearing aids, I lip-read, and I use sign language (ASL). I also grew up in a hearing family and am oral. Many times when I read a book with a Deaf character, I struggle to truly feel that they are written well and truly embody deaf experiences.

This was not the case.

“I thought about how whenever I was with another Deaf person, we’d take forever saying our goodbyes. It annoyed everyone else as they stood in the doorway waiting for us to finally say goodbye and mean it. We’d almost get there, then think of something else to tell each other. If you don’t know when you’ll get to talk to someone like you again, you don’t want your time together to end.”

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

I felt Iris’ loneliness and her frustration. I felt her desire to connect – in the way that she wanted to – not the way that the hearing world desired her to connect. I felt her frustration with her dad not learning sign language enough to have a bond, or people yelling at her to “help” her hear. For others to say to the interpreter – “tell her” instead of speaking directly to her.

While the writer is hearing, they truly showed how often a Deaf child in a hearing family feels. A big part that truly made an impact with me is how Iris felt when she was around a group of Deaf students her age – and didn’t fit in since her family (mostly) is hearing. Iris didn’t feel she fit in with the hearing school or the deaf school – and maybe that resonated with me because I often feel as if I’m not “deaf-enough” or “hearing-enough”.

Once again, I often feel I’m neither “deaf-enough” or “hearing-enough.”

Yes, it’s a middle-grade book. But the writing and story is not just for middle-grade. It’s for anyone who has felt as if they don’t belong. It’s a story of Hope – that somewhere, someone is listening to your song and singing a song with you. You are never truly alone.

“Maybe finding your way sometimes mean you can’t stay where you are.”

Happy Reading!