Hear Me

Title: Hear Me
Author: Kerry O'Malley-Cerra
Published by: Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing Inc.
Release Date: September 6, 2022
Genre: Adolescence & Coming of Age, Disabilities & Special Needs, Family, Juvenile Fiction, Parents, Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance, Social Themes
Pages: 344
ISBN13: 978-1728460604
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One year after being diagnosed with hearing loss, Rayne’s hearing keeps getting worse, even with aids. It’s a struggle to maintain friendships and keep up in school, surfing is now a wipeout, and she can’t understand her favorite singer’s lyrics. But worst of all, Rayne’s parents are pushing for her to get cochlear implants, a surgery Rayne’s not convinced is worth the risks and challenges.

Rayne begs her parents to consider other options, but they’re not budging. With the surgery looming, Rayne sets off on a bus journey that forces her to face her own assumptions about what her hearing loss means and what kind of life she could have. With the help of some new friends, Rayne realizes that even though her ears may be broken, she is not.

 

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I don’t even have enough words to describe the brilliance of this book. It reminded me a bit of My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Piccoult. Both Rayne and Anna are around the same age, able to reason to a certain point and question the god-likeness of parental authority. Can they do this? Can they do that?

This story is about love working through difficult things to get to the truth of the matter, I am not broken!

Dee S

About the Author

Kerry O’Malley Cerra is the author of the award-winning, middle-grade novel JUST A DROP OF WATER — published in September of 2014 by Sky Pony Press. It has won a Florida Book Award, the Crystal Kite Award, and was named to VOYAs Top Shelf Fiction for Middle Readers’ 2014 list. In addition, the book was a finalist for the 2015-2016 Maine Student Book Award, the 2017-2018 Garden State Teen Book Award (New Jersey), the 2016-2017 Truman Award list (Missouri), and the 2018 Nene Award (Hawaii). It won runner-up for the 2016-2017 Magnolia Award (Mississippi).

Her second novel, HEAR ME, was published on Sept. 6, 2022, by Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing INC. Based on the author’s own hearing loss/deaf experience, this contemporary middle-grade novel follows 12-year-old Rayne who–at odds with her parents over her sudden hearing loss and looming cochlear implant surgery–sets off on a journey where she discovers that even though her ears may be broken, she is not.

Kerry holds a degree in Social Science Education from the University of South Florida and currently works in a high school as the media specialist/librarian where she’s thrilled to spend other people’s money on books for her students. She continues to use her teaching skills in author presentations at schools across the country.

Though she’ll always consider South Jersey/Philly her home, she currently lives in Florida with her husband and two poorly behaved rescue dogs.

 

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