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Description
A hopeful novel about love, disability, and the inevitability of change by the author of Give Me a Sign. “Poignant, romantic, and deeply heartfelt.” —Amber Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Way I Used to Be Ellie’s Deaf boarding school just shut down, forcing her to leave the place she considered home and return to her hearing family. But being mainstreamed into public school isn't exactly easy. So her guidance counselor pairs her with Jackson, a student who’s supposed to help her adjust. Can the boy who tries to say the right things, and gets it all wrong, be the lifeline Ellie needs? Jackson has been avoiding his teammates ever since some numbness in his legs cost them an important soccer match. With his senior year off to a lonely start, he’s intrigued when he’s asked to help the new girl, initially thinking it will be a commendable move on his part. Little does he know Ellie will soon be the person he wants most by his side when the strange symptoms he’s experiencing amount to a life-changing diagnosis. Exploring what it means to build community, Anna Sortino pens a story about the fear of the unknown and the beauty of the unexpected, all wrapped up in a poignant romance that will break your heart and put it back together again. "Tender, honest, and utterly human." —Adib Khorram, award-winning author of Darius the Great Is Not Okay Read more
Publisher : G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication date : July 2, 2024
Language : English
Print length : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593697863
ISBN-13 : 63
Item Weight : 14.5 ounces
Reading age : 12 - 17 years
Dimensions : 5.75 x 1.06 x 8.54 inches
Grade level : 7 - 9
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Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Kindle
Health is a crown only the sick see. A senior year from the dual points of view is both enlightening and infuriating. I look forward to more from this author.
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2025 by Kyria
Format: Kindle
I personally felt the female lead Ellie fell somewhat flat particularly in her story development, and the "intervention" with her family didn't even feel resolved AT ALL. Now the main male lead Jackson was much better written and really honestly was the better focus of the book. It felt so much more authentic. Which makes sense given the authors' personal connection to MS compared to being Deaf. I think her vulnerbility in writing this meant the Deaf character wound up feeling a bit more flat as Jackson's character and character growth felt more real authentic. The realest moments were Ellies' urging that his disability did not define him or make him LESS THEN which is also a very real theme within Deaf culture. Overall well done, did not hit the same notes for me as Give me a sign.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2024 by Searcher 1
Format: Kindle
Anyone who has a disability, has a family member or friend with a disability should read this book. It deals with acceptance.
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2025 by Debbie S.
Format: Hardcover
Such a cute and wholesome story that I couldn’t put down!
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2024 by Grace
Format: Audiobook
I didn't love Anna Sortino's Give Me a Sign. I took issue with her characters' general mindset. The evidence that Anna Sortino might suffer from the same mindset is that the characters in that book all generally agreed on the same things. So I wasn't sure if I wanted to pick up On the Bright Side. But I decided to give this one a try, and I'm glad that I did. Ellie used to go to a deaf boarding school. But lack of funding has the school shutting down, and Ellie has to return to her hearing family and school. I finished this book two months before sitting down to write my review, and I know that I'm forgetting the intricacies of the relationship dynamic between Ellie and her family. I felt like fault lay on both sides. Ellie's parents didn't seem to put themselves in her shoes, and they didn't make the necessary adjustments to help her feel like part of the family. Ellie feels inferior to her sister, at least, she views her parents as seeing her as inferior. Mostly, it seemed that communication was needed between them that had nothing to do with hearing or the language that was being used. I felt bad for Ellie, but I also felt bad for her family. Jackson has been hiding some numbness in his legs because he wasn't sure what was happening. His dad is hard-core physical and always pushes him to go harder. Jackson probably could have talked to his parents, but he chose not to, fearing their response. Jackson has a fall during a critical soccer game, and his teammates give him a hard time over. And then Jackson's symptoms get more and more concerning. He eventually gets to the point where he can't hide what he's going through from his family any longer. And he finally receives a diagnosis. I felt bad for Jackson because the doctors were giving him the runaround. I, too, have felt like doctors were blowing off my concerns in different areas as no big deal when their explanations didn't seem to make sense. It's hard to push back against the ones who are supposed to know more about the human body than the average person. But I've learned through various family members and my own experiences that we have to advocate for ourselves, and if we're not happy with the response from the doctor, we need to get a second opinion. We only have one body to take the best care of we possibly can. Jackson, being a minor, wasn't sure about what the doctors were telling him, but he didn't know enough to push back. His character's particular struggle was more emotional when learning that Anna Sortino went through a very similar experience and received the same diagnosis as Jackson. I liked Ellie and Jackson's relationship. Ellie was a little harsh with him initially because she wasn't sure he was genuine. I like how Jackson was open to learning to sign to better communicate with Ellie. I didn't feel Ellie was as judgemental or pushy about forcing him to do so as the characters Anna Sortino wrote in Give Me a Sign. These two used text and other methods to communicate. Jackson was willing to learn, but Ellie allowed him to learn organically and didn't expect him to pick up an entire language within a ridiculous period, especially given the physical challenges he was dealing with. I was happy that Ellie found a family in her friends and a community that would support her. They helped her have a productive and needed conversation with her parents, which helped rebuild some of the damage their toxic relationship patterns were causing. But I also felt like Ellie was harsh with her family here. It's hard to say without being in the situation myself. Ellie does say there was a lack of effort on both parts but that she wasn't inclined to change it. Well, you can't expect someone else to do something you're not willing to do yourself. If you want your parents or anyone, to make an effort for you, you have to be willing to make an effort for them. Overall, I enjoyed On the Bright Side more than Anna Sortino's previous book, Give Me a Sign. Ellie was still a little bit of a struggle for me. She still had a victim mindset in a lot of ways, and her relationship with her parents was just as much her fault as her parents. They certainly shouldn't be let off the hook. Jackson was the redeeming factor. He had his physical life-altering events going on, which I think allowed Ellie not to push him unrealistically on learning sign language. He was the bright side for me in this book. On the Bright Side gets 4 Stars. Have you read On the Bright Side? What did you think? Let me know!
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Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2024 by Sandy Farmer
Format: Hardcover
On the Bright Side is about two teens, each struggling with their own issues, who develop feelings for each other. Ellie is deaf but her family never bothered to learn sign language and only ever expects her to accommodate them -- wear her cochlear implant, not use sign language, etc.--but never make an effort to accommodate her (they don't include her in multi-person, hearing conversations, don't learn or use ASL, and tell her to act "normal"). Ellie has an uphill battle when she's forced to move back home with them after her deaf boarding school closes. She also struggles with her interpreter at school who doesn't translate accurately for her. Meanwhile, Jackson starts to develop a relationship with Ellie and starts to understand her struggles and the expectations people place on her to fit into their world -- and then starts to develop odd sensations in his body and starts to struggle with his physical health. Sortino did a great job balancing their two struggles and stories and gives them each strong development and voices. I also appreciated how they were foils to each other and helped develop each other. The romance was sweet and suitable for middle school and beyond. This would be great for any secondary collection especially with such strong representation. I loved that even though these characters had their struggles they weren't defined by them and had aspects of their lives that were separate. We experienced these characters as whole people and that made a big difference. If you like realistic fiction, Sortino's other book, romance, or compelling, character driven stories, this is for you! Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2025 by K. Jones
Format: Hardcover
On The Bright Side surprised me in a very good way. It shined a bright light on the accomodation of disabilities in a way that wasn't preachy or condescending. Hopefully it will make people who've never really thought about the subject aware of how little is being asked of them to accomodate someone with a disability, compared to the difficulties that person faces in everyday living. The other important message in the book is that no matter how healthy you are, medical issues don't discriminate and can hit anyone at any time. Although it dealt with some heavy subjects, the book itself was a page-turner and had plenty of hope and joy. Ellie and Jackson are both 18 and on the cusp of adulthood. They both move forward in their lives, make changes, become more independent and start laying a solid foundation for the future both separately and together. Ellie is deaf and has been boarding at a school for the deaf since middle school. In her senior year of HS, she's suddenly faced with the closure of her school, having to mainstream in her hometown HS, and going back to living with a family that barely even acknowledges her deafness. In the past, they've refused to learn even the most basic ASL or even to make an effort to face her when they are talking so she can read their lips. Her mother won't even text her. Instead she calls her on the phone, which Ellie can barely use even with her hearing aids in. Although Ellie projects confidence and strength my heart broke for her, stuck with parents so lazy and uncaring of their child's needs. Jackson is truly a nice guy - a teen who wants to get along with everyone without asking much for himself and volunteers for anything and everything around school. When he's asked to help Ellie get settled in at school he doesn't hesitate, little knowing that he will soon face his own medical crisis and that Ellie will turn out to be the one person in his life who can truly understand what he's going through as he faces a life changing diagnosis. His initial denial of a serious problem, then confusion, then slow acceptance of his new reality was wonderfully and sympathetically written. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2024 by esm4
Format: Hardcover
Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC and Penguin Teen for the ARC of On the Bright Side by Anna Sortino. All opinions are my own. On the Bright Side is a great coming of age story with romance and an exploration of disabilities. As an adult, I am not the target audience for this book, but I do think I still got a lot out of this book. If I had read it as a teenager, I might have loved it more though. I really appreciated the dual points of view in this story because Ellie and Jackson had such different upbringings and situations they were going through. I think I enjoyed reading from Jackson’s POV a little more though because he was just so sweet and likable. I didn’t dislike Ellie, but I found her a bit irritating at the beginning of the story. She acted as if everyone was against her without even knowing people very well. I do think she grew as a character throughout the story though. Ellie’s family was terrible, and I felt bad for the lack of support she received at home. No one should ever feel lesser than because of their disabilities. Jackson’s parents were a little better, but I hated how they kept dismissing Jackson’s health problems. It did such a disservice to him, and it made it feel like they didn’t know their son at all. I appreciated the friendship between Ellie and Jackson. I liked that they didn’t let other’s opinions affect their opinions of each other. Even though they had such different lives, I think they really complemented each other. In the past, I’ve read several other books with deaf protagonists. While there are definitely similarities to those books, I liked the author’s approach in this story and how she talked about disabilities as a whole. The stigma associated with various disabilities was discussed, and I found it interesting to read about someone who was new to their disability versus someone who was used to it. I listened to the audiobook version of this book and really enjoyed the narration. I also appreciated the sound effects that denoted when a character was signing versus speaking verbally. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA contemporary stories.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2024 by Book Recs by Jess