Effie is Deaf, and no one in her family speaks sign language, her language. This moving story of survival and found family, inspired by a true court case, is perfect for fans of Wonder and Out of My Mind.

* Quietly extraordinary. --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* Elegantly weaves a heartbreaking story with hope. --School Library Journal, starred review

Through Effie, young readers both deaf and hearing will encounter a heartfelt homecoming story, and reassurance that they are not alone.--The New York Times

Effie and her older sister, Deja, have recently moved into their father's trailer after an incident at their mom's house. Daddy communicates with Effie by pointing, stomping on the floor, and making thoughtless jokes. Even if they did understand each other, could she tell the terrible secret she carries when telling feels impossible--and dangerous?

But what if telling is the only way to be seen?

This tender, spare, emotionally charged story about the impact of abuse and the power of love explores what it feels like to be an outsider in your own family and to awaken--through friendship, writing, and kinship with the natural world--to a new understanding and appreciation of yourself.

Don't miss the companion book, Set Me Free

CRITICS ARE RAVING ABOUT SHOW ME A SIGN

Winner of the 2021 Schneider Family Book Award * NPR Best Books of 2020 * Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2020 * School Library Journal Best Books of 2020 * New York Public Library Best Books of 2020 * Chicago Public Library Best Books of 2020 * 2020 Jane Addams Children's Book Award Finalist * 2020 New England Independent Booksellers Award Finalist

Deaf author Ann Clare LeZotte weaves a riveting story inspired by the true history of a thriving deaf community on Martha's Vineyard in the early 19th century. This piercing exploration of ableism, racism, and colonialism will inspire readers to examine core beliefs and question what is considered normal.

Show Me a Sign joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!

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.

This critically acclaimed winner of the Schneider Family Book Award joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!

Thrilling, important, and profoundly moving. A true gift. -- Brian Selznick, creator of the New York Times bestsellers Big Tree and The Invention of Hugo Cabret, winner of the Caldecott Medal

As a young teacher on Martha's Vineyard, Mary Lambert feels restless and adrift. So when a league of missionaries invite her to travel abroad, she knows it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Paris is home to a pioneering deaf school where she could meet its visionary instructors Jean Massieu and Laurent Clerc--and bring back their methods to America!

But the endeavor comes at a cost: The missionaries' plan to save deaf children is questionable at best--and requires Mary's support. What's more, the missionaries' work threatens the Wampanoag and other Native peoples' freedom and safety. Is pursuing Mary's own goals worth the price of betraying her friends and her own values?

So begins a feverish and fraught adventure. Brimming with vivid detail and startling insight, Sail Me Away Home will enrich your understanding of the d/Deaf experience as it celebrates d/Deaf history, culture, and community.

Instantly captivating...will keep readers hooked until the very end...A simultaneously touching and gripping adventure. -- Kirkus Reviews

Full of adventure and twists...a gripping tale of historical fiction. -- Booklist

Mary seems set to become a true hero-adventurer, an almost larger-than-life sleuth, teacher, and woman of action; and while the story's subject matter is serious in its engagement with history's ills, LeZotte conveys a sense of real enjoyment in having Mary disrupt...the prejudices and expectations of the status quo. -- The Horn Book

Three years after being kidnapped as a live specimen in a cruel experiment to determine the cause of her deafness, Mary Lambert has grown weary of domestic life on Martha's Vineyard, and even of her once beloved writing.

So when an old acquaintance summons her to an isolated manor house outside Boston to teach a young deaf girl to communicate, Mary agrees. But can a child of eight with no prior language be taught? And is Mary up to the task? With newfound purpose, Mary arrives only to discover that there is much more to the girl's story--and the circumstances of her confinement--than she ever could have imagined. Suddenly, teaching her and freeing her from the prison of her isolation, takes on much greater meaning, and peril.

Riveting and complex, delicately nuanced and fervently feminist, Set Me Free is a masterful stand-alone companion to Show Me a Sign, and a searing expose of ableism, racism, and colonialism that will challenge you to think differently about the dignity and capacity within every human being.

Instantly captivating...will keep readers hooked until the very end...A simultaneously touching and gripping adventure. -- Kirkus Reviews

Full of adventure and twists...a gripping tale of historical fiction. -- Booklist

Mary seems set to become a true hero-adventurer, an almost larger-than-life sleuth, teacher, and woman of action; and while the story's subject matter is serious in its engagement with history's ills, LeZotte conveys a sense of real enjoyment in having Mary disrupt...the prejudices and expectations of the status quo. -- The Horn Book

Three years after being kidnapped as a live specimen in a cruel experiment to determine the cause of her deafness, Mary Lambert has grown weary of domestic life on Martha's Vineyard, and even of her once beloved writing.

So when an old acquaintance summons her to an isolated manor house outside Boston to teach a young deaf girl to communicate, Mary agrees. But can a child of eight with no prior language be taught? And is Mary up to the task? With newfound purpose, Mary arrives only to discover that there is much more to the girl's story--and the circumstances of her confinement--than she ever could have imagined. Suddenly, teaching her and freeing her from the prison of her isolation, takes on much greater meaning, and peril.

Riveting and complex, delicately nuanced and fervently feminist, Set Me Free is a masterful stand-alone companion to Show Me a Sign, and a searing exposé of ableism, racism, and colonialism that will challenge you to think differently about the dignity and capacity within every human being.

Don't miss the companion book, Set Me Free

CRITICS ARE RAVING ABOUT SHOW ME A SIGN

Winner of the 2021 Schneider Family Book Award * NPR Best Books of 2020 * Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2020 * School Library Journal Best Books of 2020 * New York Public Library Best Books of 2020 * Chicago Public Library Best Books of 2020 * 2020 Jane Addams Children's Book Award Finalist * 2020 New England Independent Booksellers Award Finalist

Deaf author Ann Clare LeZotte weaves a riveting story inspired by the true history of a thriving deaf community on Martha's Vineyard in the early 19th century. This piercing exploration of ableism, racism, and colonialism will inspire readers to examine core beliefs and question what is considered normal.

* A must-read. -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

More than just a page-turner. Well researched and spare... sensitive... relevant. -- Newbery Medalist, Meg Medina for the New York Times

A triumph. -- Brian Selznick, creator of Wonderstruck and the Caldecott Award winner, The Invention of Hugo Cabret

* Will enthrall readers, but her internal journey...profound. -- The Horn Book, starred review

* Expertly crafted...exceptionally written. -- School Library Journal, starred review

* Engrossing. -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

This book blew me away. -- Alex Gino, Stonewall Award-winning author of George

Spend time in Mary's world. You'll be better for it. -- Erin Entrada Kelly, author of the Newbery Award Winner, Hello, Universe

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.

This gripping story, set in the world of the award-winning Show Me a Sign and Set Me Free, completes an unforgettable trilogy centering the d/Deaf experience.

As a young teacher on Martha's Vineyard, Mary Lambert feels restless and adrift. So when a league of missionaries invite her to travel abroad, she knows it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Paris is home to a pioneering deaf school where she could meet its visionary instructors Jean Massieu and Laurent Clerc--and bring back their methods to America!

But the endeavor comes at a cost: The missionaries' plan to save deaf children is questionable at best--and requires Mary's support. What's more, the missionaries' work threatens the Wampanoag and other Native peoples' freedom and safety. Is pursuing Mary's own goals worth the price of betraying her friends and her own values?

So begins a feverish and fraught adventure. Brimming with vivid detail and startling insight, Sail Me Away Home will enrich your understanding of the d/Deaf experience as it celebrates d/Deaf history, culture, and community.

Three years after being kidnapped as a live specimen in a cruel experiment to determine the cause of her deafness, Mary Lambert has grown weary of domestic life on Martha's Vineyard, and even of her once beloved writing.

So when an old acquaintance summons her to an isolated manor house outside Boston to teach a young deaf girl to communicate, Mary agrees. But can a child of eight with no prior language be taught? And is Mary up to the task? With newfound purpose, Mary arrives only to discover that there is much more to the girl's story--and the circumstances of her confinement--than she ever could have imagined. Suddenly, teaching her and freeing her from the prison of her isolation, takes on much greater meaning, and peril.

Riveting and complex, delicately nuanced and fervently feminist, Set Me Free is a masterful stand-alone companion to Show Me a Sign, and a searing exposé of ableism, racism, and colonialism that will challenge you to think differently about the dignity and capacity within every human being.