You're Welcome, Universe - Whitney Gardner

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⭐ 8.5/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

Julia is Deaf and an aspiring graffiti artist. She's a bit prickly and unfriendly, so when she gets kicked out of her school for the Deaf and starts going to a "normal" school, she has no plans to make friends. When someone starts tagging over her street art, she's determined to find out who's trying to show her up.

Even though the author isn't deaf herself, from what I could tell and other reviews, the representation was well done. It's not my first book about a Deaf character, but it was interesting to learn more about that world, as well as the street art world. There's a big focus on friendship and art, and very little romance, which is always rare in contemporary YA. Julia is pretty rough around the edges and occasionally unlikeable, but I could understand why she was so defensive, since she's dealing with the usual teenage problems, plus struggling with her identity as a Deaf person in a hearing world. The plot dragged a bit at times and the conflict wasn't super compelling, but overall it was a quick, enjoyable, and eye-opening read.

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