El Deafo is a poignant tale of a little girl's (rabbit's) struggle to adapt to hearing impairment and altered speech brought on by a life altering bout with meningitis. Delivered in graphic novel format, Cece takes reader's along on her quest to achieve balance, make friends and simply fit in following her family's relocation to Roanoke, Virginia. A bit self-conscious about wearing her new, larger hearing aid pack to school, Cece discovers that though unsightly, the device gives her an uncanny ability to hear so clearly that she is privy to private conversations, and can alert classmates of the approach of the teacher which earns her near celebrity status among her peers. Her hearing is not just good, it's super. Her new super power can only be complimented by the creation of a super hero persona, thus the birth of El Deafo. Betrayed by one pseudo-friend (Laura), and pitied by another (Ginny), in the end, Cece strikes a just right balance with Martha and Mike who see and accept her for the super, cool kid she is.
This novel would be a perfect classroom read-aloud and addition to a speech therapist's/counselor's library to encourage students with impediments and ease feelings of inadequacy and promoting peer sensitivity while highlighting the notion that the only obstacles that can't be overcome are those that are not faced.
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