El Deafo (Hardcover)
EL DEAFO
By Cece Bell
New York Times Bestseller
A 2015 Newbery Honor Book Going to school and making new friends can be tough. But going to school and making new friends while wearing a bulky hearing aid strapped to your chest? That requires superpowers! In this funny, poignant graphic novel memoir, author/illustrator Cece Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a very powerful—and very awkward—hearing aid.
The Phonic Ear gives Cece 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 as she is. After some trouble, she is finally 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.
PRAISE FOR EL DEAFO
STARRED REVIEWS
"A standout autobiography. Someone readers will enjoy getting to know."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Worthy of a superhero."
--Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"This empowering autobiographical story belongs right next to Raina Telgemeier’s Smile (2011) and Liz Prince’s Tomboy."
--Booklist
PRAISE
"This book is aimed at middle schoolers, but this poignant story is one people of all ages will enjoy and can learn from."— Emily Laurence, Metro US
"Bell’s book should be an inspiration for those who are ‘different,’ and it should help others to understand just what being different means. Required reading isn’t always fun reading. El Deafo should be the first and is definitely the second."— Katherine Bouton, New York Times Book Review
"This funny and poignant memoir in graphic novel format about a child grappling with hearing loss, entering school and making friends is ideal for kids navigating new experiences."— Shelf Awareness
STARRED REVIEW— Sara Lissa Paulson, The American Sign Language and English Lower School, New York City, School Library Journal
"This warmly and humorously illustrated full-color graphic novel set in the suburban ‘70s has all the gripping characters and inflated melodrama of late childhood: a crush on a neighborhood boy, the bossy friend, the too-sensitive-to-her-Deafness friend, and the perfect friend, scared away."
STARRED REVIEW— Deirdre F. Baker, The Horn Book Magazine
"This memoir is thus exceptionally informative and entertaining in relation to some aspects of deaf communication, but, most centrally and powerfully, it is exceptional for its perceptive, indomitable protagonist and complex story of friendship, growth, and classroom and family dynamics."