Of Sound Mind

Ages 11 and up. "Of Sound Mind" is about high school senior Theo, who is your average, everyday higschooler. He plays basketball with friends, goes through the motions of school everyday and avoids being with his parents -mostly his mother- at all costs. But a catch is that Theo's entire family, consisting of his younger brother Jeremy, who is in the 5th grade, his mother, a prema-donna, and his father, a humble carpenter, are all deaf. Theo is stuck in between a deaf world and a hearing world, where he is his family's only line to the outside world. This book follows him as he goes through high school, meets new friends,and faces the challenges of everyday life -for himself and his family. Full of themes and life lessons about everything from love to self-identity, this book is a feel-good book for readers, showing insight into the lives of those who are deaf and live with deaf people. Also full of emotion, you won't want to read this one without a tissue box beside you.

For Theo, dealing with deafness is simply a way of life. Being the only hearing person in a family that includes a deaf father, deaf mother, and deaf younger brother has taken it's toll on Theo--he doesn't have his own life, not really, since he's always dealing with interpreting for his family. His mother, Palma, is a famous sculptor, and she depends on Theo to make her phone calls, deal with galleries, and basically do anything and everything that she asks. His father, Thomas, is a furniture maker who was born being able to hear but lost his hearing later in life. Thomas hates asking Theo for anything, trying his best to communicate with hearing people on his own. His younger brother, Jeremy, needs Theo's help almost daily with his fifth-grade homework. For Theo, life is pretty much divided into two categories--talking with his voice to people who can hear, and talking with his hands to those who can't. But then Theo meets Ivy, a girl in his school who can also hear and sign. Her father is deaf, but her mother, who abandoned the family long ago, was able to hear. Ivy is a nurturer with her own small catering business, and soon her world is intwined with Theo's. Her dad, who builds model airplanes for a hobby, even gets Thomas and Jeremy interested, and soon they're getting together as often as they can. Then tragedy strikes when Theo's dad has a stroke. Suddenly, is demanding, diva-ish mother is acting even more incompetent than usual, refusing to even be alone in the same room as her husband once he comes home. Theo is forced to do everything from making sure his brother gets fed and off to school to hiring new caretakers for his father every time his mother fires one. Then Ivy comes up with a plan--what about having Harry and Hazel, a brother and sister that Ivy caters for, come and take care of Thomas? They've been learning sign language from Ivy, and they know enough to communicate. Soon things are finally running smoothly in Theo's household, until tragedy strikes yet again. OF SOUND MIND was such an interesting read, I didn't stop until I was finished. What would it be like, I wondered, to be the only hearing person in my house? What would it take to forget about being a kid and take on the responsibilities at such a young age that Theo had to, like negotiating the buying of his hosue at age eleven? What would I do if I believed my family couldn't survive without me? When does something like being deaf stop defining who you are? Jean Ferris answers all these questions and more with OF SOUND MIND--a truly great book for people of all ages.

Theo, a senior in high school, dreams of going to MIT to study mathematics, but he knows it's a dream that will never happen. As the only hearing member of his family, Theo feels tied to his deaf parents and little brother. His mother, a famous sculptor named Palma, depends on Theo to be her interpreter with the hearing world; she treats Theo like a servant who is always on call. He doesn't see how he can escape from it, though --- how could his family get along without him? Then Ivy arrives at Theo's school. She has a deaf parent, too, but she doesn't seem to resent it the way Theo does. She tells him that he can't let his family's deafness interfere with the life he should be making for himself. Theo doesn't think she really understands his problem, but he starts filling out college applications, and he starts hoping. Then tragedy happens. Palma feels totally helpless, and as a result, Theo has to take over the family completely. Is there a happy ending for Theo? Read this very realistic and heart-wrenching book to find out. --- Reviewed by Tamara Penny

Of Sound Mind is a novel about Theo, a senior in high school, and his deaf family. He is the only in his family that can hear. He is often stuck translating and doing most of the work around the house. Theo is having complications deciding whether or not he will attend college, or stay around to help care for his family. Going to MIT has been Theo's lifelong dream. After an unexpected death in Theo's family, he feels that he could never go to college and leave the remainder of his family. Theo's girlfriend, Ivy, also has a deaf father. Ivy helps Theo to understand that his life is important also. She helps Theo to make decisions that will better him for the future. In the end, Theo has to decide whether or not he is going to live his life for his family, or if he's going to live his life for himself. Of Sound Mind is a book written for anyone who has not made a decision about something important in his or her life and needs to make a decision before time runs out. This book is very appealing because you are left in suspense all throughout the novel. You never know what's coming next, and you are definitely left in the dark about what Theo's final decision will be. Of Sound Mind is a book for both male and female audiences. It can be helpful to both sexes. There is actually a love story taking place, but you get the chance to explore the love story from a male's point of view. Of Sound Mind is a great novel that is destined to become a classic young adult book. There are not many authors who write novels about deafness, blindness, or other handicaps that are a reality. People of all different ages, races, sexes, and conditions can relate to this novel. Deafness may not be the problem in someone's family, but there may be other problems taking place and there are no solutions for the problems. Anyone in a situation with no solution needs to read Of Sound Mind. (I gave Of Sound Mind five stars for being quite possibly the best book I've read, or one of the best. It is very uplifting, and one of those books that you are able to read over and over and still appreciate it.)

Jean Ferris' Of Sound Mind is a striking story of a boy whose family is deaf. He serves as interpreter and often as the semi-head of household in a silent world where his parents often struggle with hearing people and daily living challenges. Theo wants to go away to school - but how can he leave his dependent family? A striking story of coming of age and disability.