Review: Read My Lips

Read My Lips by Teri Brown

Synopsis (From Goodreads): Serena just wants to fly under the radar at her new school. But Serena is deaf, and she can read lips really well-even across the busy cafeteria. So when the popular girls discover her talent, there's no turning back.

From skater chick to cookie-cutter prep, Serena's identity has done a 180...almost. She still wants to date Miller, the school rebel, and she's not ready to trade her hoodies for pink tees just yet. But she is rising through the ranks in the school's most exclusive clique.

With each new secret she uncovers, Serena feels pressure to find out more. Reading lips has always been her greatest talent, but now Serena just feels like a gigantic snoop...

Teri Brown has created an emotional joyride through the eyes of Serena. No good can come of being a new students, especially a deaf new student. Serena's gift has always been lip reading, so when the popular girls learn of this talent they persuade her to use her gift to spy for them. Serena has never fit in and now she's offered the chance to be a part of the popular group and join an exclusive secret society, how can she say no?

I wanted to read this novel to see how the author dealt with telling the story through the eyes of a deaf girl, and she handled it fantastically. Serena isn't 100% deaf. She has hearing aids that help her hear, but it's not perfect. I was able to immediately relate with Serena. Who hasn't wanted to fit in before? And, having such a disability probably isn't the easiest thing in high school. This novel is full of choices gone wrong and peer pressure, which totally reminded me of high school. Even though it's hard to understand why she would give personal information about others to these popular girls, her motivations are believable.

It has a simple plot that's not too complicated and an expected ending, but it did keep me reading to find out how deep the secrets would get.
 

Plot: 4/5 stars
Ending: 4/5 stars
Cover: 4/5 stars
Overall: 4/5 stars
Recommend: The Clique
Debut Author Challenge: #7 of 12