Hear

by Jacqueline Abelson

Overview

Lots of people can hear, but how many really listen?

At the age of 17, Charlotte Goode has issues. Serious issues. Despite countless surgeries, her parent's panic attacks, and a well-meaning oncologist, a rare genetic disorder means Charlotte must live with recurring tumors. Life isn't supposed to be this way.

And just as Charlotte is learning to cope, she gets some devastating news: Tumors are growing on her auditory nerves. But, the necessary surgery will leave her completely deaf.

With the operation scheduled in a month, Charlotte prepares herself for a world without sound. A world without the violin she loves, without her best friend's laugh, and even without her boss's irksome tone. Charlotte's on a mission to take it all in, while trying to hire a band to play a benefit concert. Will it be The Bond Boys or Lennox?

Counting down the days until everything goes silent, The Bond Boys' lead singer, Ron Cam, sweeps Charlotte off her feet. He's pure charisma. Then there's Matthew Lovelace of Lennox , who captures Charlotte's attention with his music and "that" voice. What will she do?

Time is running out. Charlotte must find a way to leave the hearing world on a high note without missing a beat.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781475273090
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	01/09/2013
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.57(d)

About the Author

Jacqueline Abelson was born in Pasadena, California, and attends Mount Holyoke College. She is currently working on her second novel.

Editorial Reviews

10/14/2013
Music is 17-year-old Charlotte Goode's life. Unfortunately, she's also coping with neurofibromatosis type II, where tumors grow along the nervous system. When the doctors discover tumors in her brain, they schedule an operation to remove them, but at the cost of Charlotte's hearing. With a month to go until the operation, she has a lifetime of music and sound to squeeze in, including judging a pair of bands for a local magazine. The stark yet emotional narrative flips between pre- and post-operation as Charlotte struggles with the life-altering event, along with family drama and the stirrings of a new relationship with a charming musician, Matthew. Abelson presents the story with complexity and delicacy, focusing more on the emotional aspect of Charlotte's situation than on the medical details; the significance and consequences of Charlotte's decisions are rendered in an almost poetic manner. While some moments and family interactions feel overwrought—Charlotte's brother-in-law is almost criminally oblivious to her feelings—Abelson offers a powerful, honest story. Ages 12–18.

Publishers Weekly

Facing an imminent operation that will leave her permanently deaf, a teenage girl tries to make certain that her life is in order before the world of sound vanishes forever in this debut novel by college student Abelson. Seventeen-year-old Charlotte Goode suffers from a rare genetic disorder called Type II Neurofibromatosis that causes tumors to constantly pop up along her nervous system. Now she has found out that tumors are growing on her auditory nerves and that the operation to remove them will leave her permanently deaf--a frightening prospect made even worse by her love of music. As the operation approaches, her boss at the music magazine gives her an assignment to pick a local band for a benefit. Both of the boys who lead the respective bands in contention attract her, and she doesn't know which to choose. As she wrestles with the decision, her family life is in upheaval. Will she be able to resolve everything before her operation? This is an impressive first novel by the author, who based it on the accounts of a woman who suffered from Type II Neurofibromatosis. Although most characters are well-drawn and complete, the best is Charlotte. She faces life and the news of her impending deafness with a mixture of wry observations and down-to-earth practicality, with nary a trace of self-pity. The author wisely refrains from filling pages with rhapsodic descriptions of the sound of birds, the roar of the ocean, the whispering of the wind, etc., which would have quickly grown tiresome and maudlin. The plot of the book is trite, basically boiling down to: Who is Mr. Right? What saves it from being an After School Special is how Charlotte handles her impending deafness with maturity. An unsatisfying note is struck by Charlotte's brother-in-law, who seems to not like Charlotte because of her illness. One wishes that he would suffer just a little comeuppance for his mean-spiritedness. Otherwise, the novel moves smartly to its conclusion, with plenty of poignant moments along the way. An absorbing story about how it sometimes takes silence to make a person hear.

Kirkus Reviews