3. El Deafo

 Bell, C. (2014).  El Deafo.  BY: Abrams.

      El Deafo is a graphic novel written as an autobiography of Cece Bell.  She portrays herself as a cartoon rabbit.  When Bell was 4 years old she contracted meningitis, which left her deaf.  This is the story of how she grew up differently than other children and the struggles she faced.  Her family moves away after kindergarten and Cece is determined to fit in with the other kids at school. She meets new friends, all of which have their own flaws, one of them actually bullying Cece.  As result, Cece creates "El Deafo" in her imagination.  Nothing is too difficult for this superhero, who is courageous and is able to stand up for herself.  Cece finally meets a true friend in Martha, who does not treat her differently because of her hearing.  Through ups and downs, Cece and Martha remain friends.  Cece got enough courage to talk to the boy she had a crush on and he helped conduct an experiment with her hearing device.  Through this, Cece finally feels normal and is accepted by her peers.  "El Deafo" helped her to become courageous and make her two worlds come together.  

 The full color graphic novel illustrations contribute greatly to what the message that the author is trying to convey, even though they are cartoon rabbits.  The text is straight and to the point, making this an easy read graphic novel.  Readers can relate to this novel, as they too have probably experienced some sort of event in their life where they felt unaccepted.  Creating this imaginary "friend" helped her cope and eventually deal with the problems that she faced in the world.  This book is recommended for children 10 and older. 

Check out this interview with Cece Bell, the author of El Deafo.  Click Here.