El Deafo

Absolutely loved this one!

Charming memoir. About all growing up in the 70s. As a kid of the 80s it was cool to reminisce about a time before video games , computers, and cell phones. When you got home after school and your parents kick you out of the house to play with the neighborhood kids until dinner. Turning her hearing aid into a superpower. Growing up issues - friendship, bullying. How even well meaning friends treat her differently. Life before the ADA - no tv subtitles. Sleepovers. How awful it feels to be “othered” - referred to in front of her face as “my deaf friend”. “Oh you poor thing”. She's so sweet and too nonconfrontational. She uses her hearing aids as an excuse to get out of stuff (a sleepover makeover). Learning sign language. She finally meets a real friend who doesn't treat her differently.

I love a well-done childhood memoir and the artwork is simply charming.