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.
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.---from the publisher
224 pages 978-1-339-02190-4 Ages 9-12
Keywords: deafness, hearing, family dynamics, sign language, abuse, survival, alcoholism, novel in verse, 9 year old, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old
Read alike: HURT GO HAPPY by Ginny Rorby
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“Today, 90 percent of deaf babies are born to hearing parents, but three out of four of those parents don’t use sign language at home.”
– from the Author’s Note
“If language were liquid
It would be rushing in
Instead here we are
In a silence more eloquent
Than any word could ever be”
– Suzanne Vega, “Language” (1987)
“She writes, How do
they know you, their daughter?
I tell her I’m good at reading faces.
But they can’t read you, she writes.
I think about that.
What if, she asks,
you need their help?”
Effie Pappas is an abused, neglected, language-deprived tween. A deer in the headlights, not knowing which way to turn. Her parents' notions of communicating with her have involved stomping on the floor, pointing forcefully, and dragging her across the room to do whatever they want done. No one in the family has made an effort to learn her (sign) language. Nobody has even explained the physical changes she has been undergoing as she’s transitioned into adolescence. As her story unfolds, it is not surprising to learn that Effie has experienced some pretty hellacious nightmares.
“My name is Effie
I am twelve years old.
I live with my sister, Deja,
and our father.
When we had
to do school from
home, and wait
in lines with masks
to get into
the grocery store,
we lived with our mom
and stepfather, Nick.
Even though no one
in my family ever learned
my first language,
American Sign Language
or ASL, it was fine,
just fine, for a while.”
Apparently tired of dealing with Effie, Mom has sent the two sisters to live with Dad, who is an abusive, neglectful alcoholic living in a trailer.
“Deja and I make dinner
Just spaghetti and sauce,
with cheese from a can.
I set the table
with napkins, forks,
and glasses of milk.
We have an old radio
and a CD player.
When Deja cranks it up,
I sense the vibrations of
the southern rock beat
through the floor.
We’re dancing,
laughing, even
if we can’t talk
to each other.
Then Daddy
comes in.
Music is off,
spaghetti dumped
in the sink,
milk too.
His bottle
slammed
on the table.
Smells like
bad cough syrup.
We scatter
like mice
into our rooms.”
Hungry, lonely, and stuck wearing old, dirty clothing, Effie heads into a new school where she is slated to repeat a grade. The only person Effie can effectively communicate with at this point is Miss Kathy, her assigned ASL interpreter.
Inspired by a true story and court case, DEER RUN HOME is the fictional story-in-verse of this at-risk child growing and becoming an aspiring poet, while Miss Kathy fights to gain permanent custody of Effie.
DEER RUN HOME is a powerful tale for tweens about a deaf girl trapped in silence, the self-absorbed parents who have failed, miserably, to step up to the basic needs of their child, and the loving and determined woman who really cares and really gets what is going on, and who sets out to make things right for Effie.
Recommended by: Richie Partington, MLIS, California USA
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