Book Review: The Words In My Hands by Asphyxia

The Words In My Hands
by Asphyxia (YA Asphyxia)

Using a colorful art journal style, the author/artist Asphyxia tells the story of a not distant future where one giant company has monopolized the food stream. People are being dissuaded from eating dangerous “wild” food and persuaded to eat chemically produced meals specially formulated to their personal health requirements. What could go wrong with one company in charge of the food supply?

 

The main character Piper (sixteen, smart, artistic, and Deaf) has grown up using lip-reading, hearing aids and speech training to communicate. Her mother, one of the scientists involved with the food company, felt that the best course for her daughter would be to pass as a hearing individual and to live a so-called “normal” life. What her mother doesn’t realize is how much Piper struggles with isolation and how difficult and exhausting it is to understand the world around you when your communication is limited. When Piper meets a young man who both speaks and uses sign language, she is introduced to a whole new community and a whole new way of living.

 

The Words In My Hands is a thoughtful book. The author herself is Deaf, lending an authenticity to Piper’s experience. She shares aspects of growing up Deaf that as a hearing person, I hadn’t considered before, while Piper’s struggles with feeling like an outsider are completely relatable. As we follow her growth and learning, we too are charged to consider how decisions made with the best of intentions can have unexpected repercussions.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais, The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He, Into the Dark by Karen Rose, Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby or You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Garber.)

 

( publisher’s official The Words in My Hands web page ) | ( official Asphyxia web site )

 

Recommended by Carrie K.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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