You're Welcome Universe
Title: You're Welcome Universe
Author: Whitney Gardner
297 pages
Date Published: March 2017
Genre: YA contemporary
Book Description: When Julia finds a slur about her best friend scrawled across the back of the Kingston School for the Deaf, she covers it up with a beautiful (albeit illegal) graffiti mural.
Her supposed best friend snitches, the principal expels her, and her two mothers set Julia up with a one-way ticket to a “mainstream” school in the suburbs, where she’s treated like an outcast as the only deaf student. The last thing she has left is her art, and not even Banksy himself could convince her to give that up.
Out in the ’burbs, Julia paints anywhere she can, eager to claim some turf of her own. But Julia soon learns that she might not be the only vandal in town. Someone is adding to her tags, making them better, showing off—and showing Julia up in the process. She expected her art might get painted over by cops. But she never imagined getting dragged into a full-blown graffiti war.
I really like the varied representation in this book.
Main Characters:
Julia, is a deaf young woman in high school, yes best years to create drama. She is a only child facing not only the joys of being deaf in a school where everyone else is not, her mothers deprive her of the art that she loves as a punishment for vandalising school property and getting expelled. Interestingly enough she is of Indian descent and for some reason people seem to confuse her with Arabics and they confused them (everyone from middle East) with terrorists which is disturbing and wrong. But she is just a regular teen going through some difficult times and acting out. Julia ends up showing her immaturerity and selfishness but we see her grow as a character and end up on the way to becomeing a better person. Good character development.
YP is a girl in the new school who happens to befriend Julia almost by accident. They have nothing in commun, but they end up trying to have a conversation. YP is agoing through a hard time, she just got recuperated from a self-image issue, or at least is on her way to recovery but her so called friends and the boyfriend she holds dear are giving her a hard time and doing everything in their power to bring her down again. She dislikes herself and thinks herself as too big, she like any teen cares a little too much on what others are thinking and it makes her life in high school difficult. But by befriending Julia she might just get the push she needed to get over her issues and start working to embracing and accepting herself.
Cassey is the interpreter Julia's mom hire to help her put in school. This young woman gets on Julia's nerves frist because she cares too much a butts in on personal matters and not just on school related topics. But she is an awesome person and truly cares for Julia. It is simply awesome to have a teen get such a sincere friend from someone ... she does seem like the type of dedicated person who truly wants to help others. It is a nice frienship even if most of the story they are on rocky ground.
I enjoy the diversity in the characters, the friendship focus instead of a love interest like most of the contemporary books out there. It shows a deaf girl, but that is not the most important thing in her life, art, friends even unrequired love interests; Julia is more than her deafness. I personally do not know anyone who faces that issue butit feels very realistic because people are not their disabilities. Moreover it shows that "regular" if you can call it that also have issues, be it insecurity about their body, fear of repercussion if they hang out with the wrong people, the wish to be known to be noticed be it by doing something remarkable or doing some street art; whichever way to let the world know you're there.
It is a very good story, simply s quick read. I especially like that the story doesn't revolve around a love interest. It is quiet rare to find YA books that have friendship as main topic. I gave this a 5 out of 5 stars, really liked it.
Author: Whitney Gardner
297 pages
Date Published: March 2017
Genre: YA contemporary
Book Description: When Julia finds a slur about her best friend scrawled across the back of the Kingston School for the Deaf, she covers it up with a beautiful (albeit illegal) graffiti mural.
Her supposed best friend snitches, the principal expels her, and her two mothers set Julia up with a one-way ticket to a “mainstream” school in the suburbs, where she’s treated like an outcast as the only deaf student. The last thing she has left is her art, and not even Banksy himself could convince her to give that up.
Out in the ’burbs, Julia paints anywhere she can, eager to claim some turf of her own. But Julia soon learns that she might not be the only vandal in town. Someone is adding to her tags, making them better, showing off—and showing Julia up in the process. She expected her art might get painted over by cops. But she never imagined getting dragged into a full-blown graffiti war.
I really like the varied representation in this book.
Main Characters:
Julia, is a deaf young woman in high school, yes best years to create drama. She is a only child facing not only the joys of being deaf in a school where everyone else is not, her mothers deprive her of the art that she loves as a punishment for vandalising school property and getting expelled. Interestingly enough she is of Indian descent and for some reason people seem to confuse her with Arabics and they confused them (everyone from middle East) with terrorists which is disturbing and wrong. But she is just a regular teen going through some difficult times and acting out. Julia ends up showing her immaturerity and selfishness but we see her grow as a character and end up on the way to becomeing a better person. Good character development.
YP is a girl in the new school who happens to befriend Julia almost by accident. They have nothing in commun, but they end up trying to have a conversation. YP is agoing through a hard time, she just got recuperated from a self-image issue, or at least is on her way to recovery but her so called friends and the boyfriend she holds dear are giving her a hard time and doing everything in their power to bring her down again. She dislikes herself and thinks herself as too big, she like any teen cares a little too much on what others are thinking and it makes her life in high school difficult. But by befriending Julia she might just get the push she needed to get over her issues and start working to embracing and accepting herself.
Cassey is the interpreter Julia's mom hire to help her put in school. This young woman gets on Julia's nerves frist because she cares too much a butts in on personal matters and not just on school related topics. But she is an awesome person and truly cares for Julia. It is simply awesome to have a teen get such a sincere friend from someone ... she does seem like the type of dedicated person who truly wants to help others. It is a nice frienship even if most of the story they are on rocky ground.
I enjoy the diversity in the characters, the friendship focus instead of a love interest like most of the contemporary books out there. It shows a deaf girl, but that is not the most important thing in her life, art, friends even unrequired love interests; Julia is more than her deafness. I personally do not know anyone who faces that issue butit feels very realistic because people are not their disabilities. Moreover it shows that "regular" if you can call it that also have issues, be it insecurity about their body, fear of repercussion if they hang out with the wrong people, the wish to be known to be noticed be it by doing something remarkable or doing some street art; whichever way to let the world know you're there.
It is a very good story, simply s quick read. I especially like that the story doesn't revolve around a love interest. It is quiet rare to find YA books that have friendship as main topic. I gave this a 5 out of 5 stars, really liked it.
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