Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Deer Run Home

Deer Run Home is a middle grade book in verse based on a true court case of a Deaf student who was adopted by her ASL interpreter after experiencing extreme abuse and neglect at home. This was a HEAVY read, and I highly encourage readers, teachers, and parents to check the content warnings on this one and to read with care and open conversation with an adult (for students). It is a powerful story and one that is written with a tremendous amount of sensitivity. Overall though, it felt a little incomplete to me. While I understand what the author was trying to do with the deer symbolism, it seemed a bit forced. I also would have loved to see a bit more development of both the storyline and characters.

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avabudavari's review

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kimberlyfraser's review

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3.0

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booksmellz's review

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challenging emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

Trigger Warnings: Neglect, communication neglect, sexual abuse

Effie is Deaf and no one in her family can speak sign language - her own father communicates with her by stomping, pointing, and making thoughtless jokes. Even if they could understand each other, Effie doesn’t think she could share her biggest secret about what happened before moving in with him.

When Effie’s school interpreter, Miss Kathy, drops by the house with food during a surprise visit, she sees the poor conditions Effie and her sister Deja are living in (no food, dirty house, no clean clothes). Miss Kathy immediately asks for permission for Effie to live with her, and her father surprisedly agrees. Now, Miss Kathy is trying to figure out a more permanent solution.

I’ve picked up this novel because I’ve enjoyed Ann Clare LeZotte’s Show Me a Sign series and as an author who is Deaf, I know the experience of the d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing characters in the book will be more genuine. The story is actually based on a legal case back in the 90’s where an interpreter fought for custody of a student they worked with.

This novel in verse does an amazing job at putting everyday challenges of d/Deaf children into words - ranging from parents who refuse to learn ASL, to teachers not understanding the difference between English spoken grammar and ASL grammar (which is highly different!) and how to best accommodate d/Deaf students.

Overall, this is a heartbreaking story, but with a beautiful ending. Even those who haven’t really read novels in verse before I think would enjoy this book because it gives even more insight to the d/Deaf culture with Effie’s experience.

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anxiouslybooked's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

LeZotte, Ann Clare. Deer Run Home. Scholastic Press, 2024, 978-1339021900. $18.99. 224p. Grades 5-8

Description: Effie was born Deaf, but no one in her family uses her language, ASL, to communicate. After an incident happened at her mom’s house, Effie and Deja are sent to move in with their father. After her ASL interpreter at school realizes that Effie may be suffering from some neglect at home with her father, she is determined to help her and get her out of that unsafe environment.

Thoughts: WOW. This book blew me out of the water. There are so many different layers to Effie’s story and it truly makes your heart hurt while also slowly putting it back together. I personally had no idea about language deprivation. This book is highly recommended for all middle school and upper elementary school libraries.

Realistic Fiction

Tags: ASL, Deaf awareness, Child Neglect, Novels-In-Verse, Friendship, Diverse Family Structures, Adoption, Foster Care, Physical/Verbal Abuse, Language Deprivation

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bookcaptivated's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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cathgrin's review

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challenging emotional hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

LeZotte packs a lot into a small number of pages. Effie's story is based on a real-life case of a young Deaf child legally removed from the custody of their parents and placed in the care of their ASL interpreter.

In this tale, Effie and her sister have been living with their mom and stepdad until an incident leaves them in the care of their father, who struggles with alcohol abuse and routinely neglects his children. On top of this, nobody in Effie's family has learned any sign language, and have no active way of communicating with her.

A post-COVID return to school sees Effie repeating 5th grade, but granted the support of Miss Kathy, a Miss Honey-esque interpreter who keeps a close eye on her young charge.

The neglect and abuse that Effie suffers at the hands of her family

she is sexually abused by her stepfather, and her mother's response is to send her to live with her father

comes to light and Miss Kathy files for emergency custody while they take the issue to the courts.

A side plot involves Effie's developing friendship with Cait, a wheelchair-using peer with cerebral palsy who immediately starts learning ASL to communicate with her friend, which is a beautifully depicted reprieve from the traumas of Effie's home life. As well, there is Effie's distress at the dwindling deer habitat in her area, and her supportive teacher's encouragement of her writing. This ultimately creates a densely-packed verse novel with a lot to say.

It's a hard topic, but a beautiful read.

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