El Deafo | | Graphic Novel Book Review

El Deafo is the book I NEEDED as a child. It is a gorgeous graphic novel following the childhood of Cece as she navigates life with hearing loss. Cece is diagnosed with meningitis at the age of 4, this results in hearing loss. It's a big change for the little girl, something that can take years to adjust to. Cece is fitted with a Phonic Ear hearing aid (See images), which she begins to view as a superpower instead of an impediment. It's a device that allows her to hear everything.

El Deafo is an emotional and heart-warming story of change, acceptance, confidence and growth.

This graphic novel made me cry. I related to it deeply because when I was a child I also had meningitis. I was 8 when I got ill, I lost all my hearing and couldn't walk. Fortunately, I got feeling back in my legs, but only got half of my hearing back. Similar to Cece, this changed my life in little ways. I could still hear, but some aspects of life became difficult, like hearing my teacher in a classroom or hearing my friends in loud, crowded places. I was transported back to my childhood whilst reading. It reminded me how much my life has changed, even just the little things like only using one ear phone now to listen to music. Music, voices and sounds didn't sound the same anymore, everything was a little bit quieter.

Some of the experiences Cece goes through I relate to 100%. The portrayal of meningitis was accurate, depicting what happens when you're diagnosed - especially the lumbar puncture. I've never seen this illness represented in any literature, nor deafness. Cece details the situations that are impacted by her hearing loss, such as loud or dark places, not being face-to-face with the person you're talking to, and group discussions. 

Isolation is a key theme. Cece feels left out, unable to function like all her classmates. At first, she attends a class where there's other children with hearing loss, this was a breathe of fresh air for her until she started a new school where others didn't understand properly. They made jokes and were a bit mean, and I understood that so much. Bullying is a large part of having a disability or illness as a child. Sometimes they don't understand the true extent of their comments, classing it as a bit of 'mucking around', but it can be detrimental to the victim. For me, having received comments about my hearing loss, I now don't tell many people. It's not something I openly talk about unless you're one of my close friends.

Despite the negative thoughts, and the bullying, Cece makes friends. Although some are a bit too much for her, some are rude - speaking very slowly because they believe this will help Cece understand what they're saying. Many are ignorant of her disability, unsure of what she can and can't do, what she can hear and how her hearing aid works. In one scene, her siblings explain to her that a character in a show is being called 'deafo', which obviously is intended as an insult, but Cece uses it to her advantage. 

My favourite part was when she begins to overcome her struggles by creating an alter-ego. A deaf superhero who helps her out of tricky situations. 

This book felt like a massive part of me, a book I'll treasure for the rest of my life. It's an important one for diversity and representation, especially for young children. If I could distribute this into every nursery, school and library, I would!