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Hear Me Lib/E
One year after being diagnosed with hearing loss, Rayne's hearing keeps getting worse, even with aids.
It's a struggle to maintain friendships and keep up in school, surfing is now a wipeout, and she can't understand her favorite singer's lyrics. But worst of all, Rayne's parents are pushing for her to get cochlear implants, a surgery Rayne's not convinced is worth the risks and challenges.
Rayne begs her parents to consider other options, but they're not budging. With the surgery looming, Rayne sets off on a bus journey that forces her to face her own assumptions about what her hearing loss means and what kind of life she could have. With the help of some new friends, Rayne realizes that even though her ears may be broken, she is not.
It's a struggle to maintain friendships and keep up in school, surfing is now a wipeout, and she can't understand her favorite singer's lyrics. But worst of all, Rayne's parents are pushing for her to get cochlear implants, a surgery Rayne's not convinced is worth the risks and challenges.
Rayne begs her parents to consider other options, but they're not budging. With the surgery looming, Rayne sets off on a bus journey that forces her to face her own assumptions about what her hearing loss means and what kind of life she could have. With the help of some new friends, Rayne realizes that even though her ears may be broken, she is not.
Audio CD
Published September 6, 2022
About the author
Kerry O'Malley Cerra
6 books85 followersKerry O'Malley Cerra is an award-winning author of middle-grade books and picture books.
Her first novel, Just a Drop of Water, was published on September 2, 2014, by Sky Pony Press. It won a Florida Book Award, the Crystal Kite Award, and was named to VOYA's Top Shelf Fiction for Middle Readers' 2014 list. In addition, the book was a finalist for the 2015-2016 Maine Student Book Award, the 2017-2018 Garden State Teen Book Award (New Jersey), the 2016-2017 Truman Award list (Missouri), and the 2018 Nene Award (Hawaii). It won runner-up for the 2016-2017 Magnolia Award (Mississippi).
Her second novel, Hear Me (Sept. 6, 2022, Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing), is based on the author's own hearing loss/deaf experience. This contemporary middle-grade novel follows 12-year-old Rayne, who, at odds with her parents over her sudden hearing loss and looming cochlear implant surgery, sets off on a journey where she discovers that even though her ears may be broken, she is not. This book is a 2024-2025 Sunshine State Young Reader Award book.
Her novel, Make a Little Wave (Oct 1, 2024, Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing), won both a Florida Book Award and was named a 2025 honor book for the national Green Earth Book Award. This story follows Sav, who, once learning about the horrific act of shark finning, sets out to stop a local restaurant from serving shark fin soup. Only things get super messy as Sav realizes the ins and outs of being an activist. Eventually, she learns to use her voice to stand up for the sharks, becoming a true eco-warrior. The scientific note that precedes the story is written by Kylie Cerra, the author's daughter, a marine biologist with a concentration in shark studies.
Stay tuned for her forthcoming nonfiction picture book, The Gallaudet Eleven: The Story of NASA's Deaf Bioastronauts (March 31, 2026, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers). This work tells the story of eleven deaf men and how they helped America and NASA win the Space Race. It's a Deaf story by a deaf author with pictures by a deaf illustrator--a very cool trifecta!
Kerry’s work has received praise from The New York Times, Kirkus, School Library Journal, Booklist, VOYA, and the Horn Book Guide calling her stories moving, perceptive, well-developed, and woven with an expert hand. A deaf author herself (who now hears with the help of one cochlear implant), she's passionate about books that depict d/Deaf and/or hearing loss experiences for children.
Kerry holds a degree in Social Science Education from the University of South Florida and only recently left her job as a high school media specialist/librarian (and a social studies teacher long before that) to return to writing full-time. She continues to use her teaching skills in author presentations at schools across the country.
Though she'll always consider South Jersey/Philly her home, she currently lives in Florida with her husband and the cutest rescue dog ever.
Her first novel, Just a Drop of Water, was published on September 2, 2014, by Sky Pony Press. It won a Florida Book Award, the Crystal Kite Award, and was named to VOYA's Top Shelf Fiction for Middle Readers' 2014 list. In addition, the book was a finalist for the 2015-2016 Maine Student Book Award, the 2017-2018 Garden State Teen Book Award (New Jersey), the 2016-2017 Truman Award list (Missouri), and the 2018 Nene Award (Hawaii). It won runner-up for the 2016-2017 Magnolia Award (Mississippi).
Her second novel, Hear Me (Sept. 6, 2022, Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing), is based on the author's own hearing loss/deaf experience. This contemporary middle-grade novel follows 12-year-old Rayne, who, at odds with her parents over her sudden hearing loss and looming cochlear implant surgery, sets off on a journey where she discovers that even though her ears may be broken, she is not. This book is a 2024-2025 Sunshine State Young Reader Award book.
Her novel, Make a Little Wave (Oct 1, 2024, Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing), won both a Florida Book Award and was named a 2025 honor book for the national Green Earth Book Award. This story follows Sav, who, once learning about the horrific act of shark finning, sets out to stop a local restaurant from serving shark fin soup. Only things get super messy as Sav realizes the ins and outs of being an activist. Eventually, she learns to use her voice to stand up for the sharks, becoming a true eco-warrior. The scientific note that precedes the story is written by Kylie Cerra, the author's daughter, a marine biologist with a concentration in shark studies.
Stay tuned for her forthcoming nonfiction picture book, The Gallaudet Eleven: The Story of NASA's Deaf Bioastronauts (March 31, 2026, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers). This work tells the story of eleven deaf men and how they helped America and NASA win the Space Race. It's a Deaf story by a deaf author with pictures by a deaf illustrator--a very cool trifecta!
Kerry’s work has received praise from The New York Times, Kirkus, School Library Journal, Booklist, VOYA, and the Horn Book Guide calling her stories moving, perceptive, well-developed, and woven with an expert hand. A deaf author herself (who now hears with the help of one cochlear implant), she's passionate about books that depict d/Deaf and/or hearing loss experiences for children.
Kerry holds a degree in Social Science Education from the University of South Florida and only recently left her job as a high school media specialist/librarian (and a social studies teacher long before that) to return to writing full-time. She continues to use her teaching skills in author presentations at schools across the country.
Though she'll always consider South Jersey/Philly her home, she currently lives in Florida with her husband and the cutest rescue dog ever.
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