You Don't Know everything, Jilly P. by Alex Gino - OPTIONAL

You Don't Know everything, Jilly P. by Alex Gino, 240 pages. Scholastic, 2018.$12.     

Language: G (2 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG (racial issues, police shootings)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

Jillian, Jilly, is in 7th grade when her sister Emma is born. Emma is born deaf.  Jilly loves to read and her favorite genre is fantasy. She has joined an on-line chat room where she discusses the contents of her favorite books with other fans. One of the kids in chat group is a deaf boy, named Derek. Jilly kind of has a crush on him, even before they meet. When her sister is born, Jilly asks Derek and lot of questions and he helps her and her parents find help.         

The story of Jilly and her family and their struggles were real. I think the author tried to put as many issues as possible into the story, and I think that detracted from, rather than added to the story. The story is told from Jilly's point of view.

Ellen-Anita, Library