Rian is starting her sixth grade year in a new home and at a new school in Northeast Philadelphia. On her first day, she is greeted by Shack, the class bully, who wastes no time breaking one of her cochlear implants. She’s used to feeling like an outsider, but nothing could prepare her for life at John Hancock Elementary…

Her teachers can’t pronounce her name, the “normal” kids think she’s Deaf and the Deaf kids think she’s a joke, especially Luis Rodriguez, a Deaf boy who uses American Sign Language to communicate with his small circle of family and friends.

Drawn together by a common enemy, Rian, Luis and their small group of misfit friends hatch a ghoulish plan to get revenge on Shack once and for all… but will their idea be an epic success or will playing with the supernatural come back to haunt them in the end?

 
 
 
 

“I would have greatly benefited from a book like this when I was a kid! I was the only deaf kid in my school in the 70s, and so I spent a lot of time hiding my aids and my deafness (as you probably know, if you read El Deafo), trying to pass for hearing.”

Cece Bell,
Author of the graphic novel memoir El Deafo
(Adapted into animated original series available on Apple TV+!)

 
 

“Fusco’s fast-moving and engaging story of the experiences of children with different types of hearing loss in an urban public school classroom rings true to the significant challenges faced by this population of children. Like in the story WONDER, deaf not Deaf addresses the pervasive misunderstanding of hearing loss and the teasing and bullying children often endure. The issues of Deaf Culture are skillfully woven throughout the story. The overarching issue in this story focuses on the fact that communication in all forms is important and should be valued. Unexpected twists in the story bring the students together in friendship and understanding. This is a must read book for middle grade students.”

Dr. Diane Heller Klein,
Professor Emeritus Deaf Education

 
 
 
 
 

Christian Fusco is a twenty-year veteran teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing who has worked in and around Philadelphia throughout his career. He studied Education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Film & Media Arts at Temple University. In addition to his career as an itinerant teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, he teaches film-making at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute to high school students.

After receiving his graduate degree in Educational Administration from Scranton University in 2017, he was elected to his local school board where he is currently serving his second term as Vice President. He is a father and a husband who loves traveling with his family above all else.

 
 
 

  • The perfect companion piece for the middle schoolers, this novel study created by the author includes Comprehension & Analysis questions engage students through identifying irony, making predictions, interpreting idioms, writing creatively, foreshadowing and defining genre.

    Challenging story vocabulary is practiced with fun activities like deciphering signed messages, sketching word meanings, completing a crossword puzzle, tweeting vocabulary messages and more!

    Get your students excited about reading and learning a new language! In this activity, students are instructed to go to the deaf not Deaf TikTok page and create a Duet video with Justina Miles, signing the alphabet.

    Preview the study guide here.

  • Meet author Christian Fusco and get your signed copy of deaf not Deaf at the Local Author Spotlight hosted by Barnes & Noble Montgomeryville on Saturday, April 16 from 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM!

 

Readers can tune into the deaf not Deaf YouTube channel to see demonstrations of how each important word, phrase, and thought is signed by the characters in the book! Brought to you by Justina Miles.