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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Of Sound Mind Review, May 25, 2006
Ages 11 and up. "Of Sound Mind" is about high school senior Theo, who is your average, everyday higschooler. He plays basketball with friends, goes through the motions of school everyday and avoids being with his parents -mostly his mother- at all costs. But a catch is that Theo's entire family, consisting of his younger brother Jeremy, who is in the 5th grade, his mother, a prema-donna, and his father, a humble carpenter, are all deaf. Theo is stuck in between a deaf world and a hearing world, where he is his family's only line to the outside world. This book follows him as he goes through high school, meets new friends,and faces the challenges of everyday life -for himself and his family. Full of themes and life lessons about everything from love to self-identity, this book is a feel-good book for readers, showing insight into the lives of those who are deaf and live with deaf people. Also full of emotion, you won't want to read this one without a tissue box beside you.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
unique and thought provoking, May 27, 2007
Of Sound Mind doesn't fit into any neat little box in my head. Though there is a sort of romance in it, it isn't anything like a typical teen romance book. The real story is about family relationships. It's a young adult novel, best for around age 12 plus. It's contemporary fiction, and a good read for both genders.
The central character is a high school senior named Theo. Theo is a gifted math student, but otherwise we know very little about his life at school. The majority of the novel is set at Theo's home, where he is the only hearing person. His high-strung, artist mother is deaf, as is his more level-headed Dad and his gentle younger brother, Jeremy. Theo is the family interpreter, a role that he resents yet is also proud of fulfilling. He's been the main source of communication with the hearing world since he was very young, and he has perfected the art of selective translation. When his mother signs rudely and accuses her dealer of not preparing adequately for her upcoming art show, Theo paraphrases her concerns very creatively. Thus he is not just passing on her words and changing them from ASL (American Sign Language) to spoken English, he is also thinking on his feet and ad libbing. It's no wonder that Theo finds interpreting for his mother to be exhausting!
Theo meets a girl who recognizes his ASL "muttering" and his initial reaction is to stay away from her. He's uncomfortable being known as the kid with deaf parents, and he feels like he fits neither here nor there, not quite belonging to either the deaf culture or that of the hearing world. He doesn't want to be seen at school talking in ASL. Nevertheless, he begins to watch for this new girl, and soon enough, they are good friends. Ivy helps Theo to see everything in a new light.
The author obviously knows her subject matter. She paints a realistic portrait, with plenty of subtle details that show her understanding of ASL and deaf culture. The deep suspicion that Theo's mother holds toward people with hearing, the terrible affront of her turning her back on someone during conversation, and Theo's wish that he could eavesdrop on his father and brother, who are in a different room; these all enrich the novel and give it life.
There were a few things I didn't like about this book. I would have enjoyed reading more about Theo's friends at school, and about his passion for math. A little too much attention seems focused on Ivy and her special interest. I got rather bored with the endless list of culinary delights. Overall though, this is a gem of a story, well told and original.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
When Does a Handicap Define Who You Are?, February 23, 2006
For Theo, dealing with deafness is simply a way of life. Being the only hearing person in a family that includes a deaf father, deaf mother, and deaf younger brother has taken it's toll on Theo--he doesn't have his own life, not really, since he's always dealing with interpreting for his family. His mother, Palma, is a famous sculptor, and she depends on Theo to make her phone calls, deal with galleries, and basically do anything and everything that she asks. His father, Thomas, is a furniture maker who was born being able to hear but lost his hearing later in life. Thomas hates asking Theo for anything, trying his best to communicate with hearing people on his own. His younger brother, Jeremy, needs Theo's help almost daily with his fifth-grade homework. For Theo, life is pretty much divided into two categories--talking with his voice to people who can hear, and talking with his hands to those who can't.
But then Theo meets Ivy, a girl in his school who can also hear and sign. Her father is deaf, but her mother, who abandoned the family long ago, was able to hear. Ivy is a nurturer with her own small catering business, and soon her world is intwined with Theo's. Her dad, who builds model airplanes for a hobby, even gets Thomas and Jeremy interested, and soon they're getting together as often as they can.
Then tragedy strikes when Theo's dad has a stroke. Suddenly, is demanding, diva-ish mother is acting even more incompetent than usual, refusing to even be alone in the same room as her husband once he comes home. Theo is forced to do everything from making sure his brother gets fed and off to school to hiring new caretakers for his father every time his mother fires one.
Then Ivy comes up with a plan--what about having Harry and Hazel, a brother and sister that Ivy caters for, come and take care of Thomas? They've been learning sign language from Ivy, and they know enough to communicate. Soon things are finally running smoothly in Theo's household, until tragedy strikes yet again.
OF SOUND MIND was such an interesting read, I didn't stop until I was finished. What would it be like, I wondered, to be the only hearing person in my house? What would it take to forget about being a kid and take on the responsibilities at such a young age that Theo had to, like negotiating the buying of his hosue at age eleven? What would I do if I believed my family couldn't survive without me? When does something like being deaf stop defining who you are?
Jean Ferris answers all these questions and more with OF SOUND MIND--a truly great book for people of all ages.
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