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    Hurt Go Happy: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Hurt Go Happy: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Hurt Go Happy: A Novel
    Ebook282 pages3 hours

    Hurt Go Happy: A Novel

    By Ginny Rorby

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Thirteen-year-old Joey Willis is used to being left out of conversations. Though she's been deaf since the age of six, Joey's mother has never allowed her to learn sign language. She strains to read the lips of those around her, but often fails.

    Everything changes when Joey meets Dr. Charles Mansell and his baby chimpanzee, Sukari. Her new friends use sign language to communicate, and Joey secretly begins to learn to sign. Spending time with Charlie and Sukari, Joey has never been happier. She even starts making friends at school for the first time. But as Joey's world blooms with possibilities, Charlie's and Sukari's choices begin to narrow—until Sukari's very survival is in doubt.



    At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateJul 31, 2007
    ISBN9781429909372
    Unavailable
    Hurt Go Happy: A Novel
    Author

    Ginny Rorby

    Young adult novelist Ginny Rorby is the author of Dolphin Sky (Putnam, 1996), Hurt Go Happy (Tor Books, 2006), The Outside of a Horse (Dial Books, 2010) and Lost in the River of Grass (Lerner Books, March 2011). Dolphin Sky was nominated for the Keystone Reading Award. Hurt Go Happy was a Junior Library Guild selection and a Scholastic Book Fair selection, has been nominated for reading awards in six states, and won the ALA 2008 Schneider Family Book Award. The Outside of a Horse is a Scholastic Book Fair selection, and Lost in the River of Grass is a Junior Library Guild selection. Ginny was raised in Winter Park, Florida, and lived in Miami during her career as a Pan American flight attendant. She holds an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Miami, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Florida International University. Her goal, after wrapping up her flying career and her graduate studies, was to move someplace where she would never be hot again. She now lives on the chilly coast of northern California with her thirty-year-old parrot and way too many cats. Ginny was co-director of the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference for nine years and continues her involvement with this 22-year-old institution. She served as President of the Mendocino Coast Audubon Society for seven years, was on the board of the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, is past president of the Point Cabrillo Lightkeeper's Association, and continues to serve on the PCLK board of directors.

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    Reviews for Hurt Go Happy

    4.5/5

    109 ratings14 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I loved this book. I have a degree in Anthropology, and one of the most disturbing aspects of my coursework was experiencing directly how our close relatives are held in captivity so we can "observe" and often experiment on them. Ms. Rorby bases her story on the real abuses that have occurred when chimpanzees and other primates are sent off to what are basically prisons to live out the rest of their lives once their initial usefulness is over. Ms. Rorby let's us see the world through a deaf girl's eyes, and relates her own developing relationship to the world to that of Sukari, the chimpanzee who is also learning sign language. The developing bond between the two is presented with a deft touch. The book is realistic in showing that not all families are happy or "normal."The moral dilemma Sukari's captivity presents is painful but is ultimately resolved in a way that is realistic yet satisfying. Young readers will appreciate the happy ending.
    • 4/5
      Joey is used to being left out of conversations. She's been deaf since she was 6 and only fitfully reads lips. Her life changes drastically when she meets Sukari, a baby chimpanzee who uses American Sign Language. Suddenly Joey has a new friend and, more importantly, a reason to learn to sign. This is a heart-warming, ultimately triumphant look at a girl and an ape who need each other. This is a terrific read for anyone who loves animals and/or is interested in the challenges of being deaf.
    • 4/5
      Joey is thirteen when this story begins, and she has lost her hearing due to a beating by her father when she is six years old. She now lives with her mother, stepfather, and young brother. Both she and her mother are still trying to deal with their tragic life with her father. Her mother refuses to let Joey learn any sign language, believing she is better off just learning to lip read. It takes her friend and neighbor, Charlie, to convince her mother what a disservice this is to Joey. Her mother slowly relents, realizing how isolated Joey is from the rest of the world without a more effective means of communication. Joey falls in love with Sukari, a signing chimpanzee that lives with Charlie, and she eventually goes to great lengths to save Sukari from an animal testing lab after Charlie's death.Very sad book - made me cry and cry and cry, and cry hard. Author does a good job of illustrating how Joey "hears" others. She uses regular text for spoken word, showing gaps where Joey was not able to lip read; she uses bold text for notes that are written out for Joey; and she uses capitol letters for signed communication. This makes it much easier to follow just how people (and chimps) are communicating with her.
    • 4/5
      Joey is deaf, living with her mother, stepfather, and brother in California, when she meets an elderly man with an adopted chimpanzee who can speak sign language. The relationship that blossoms between the deaf girl and the adopted chimpanzee is the core of the book. The book goes beyond describing what it is like to be an outsider, whether you are a human or an animal. It touches on what it takes to truly communicate with another soul.
    • 4/5
      Joey is a 14yr old girl who lost her hearing when she was seven. The first half of the story deals with her struggles with her mother over learning ASL and making friends with an old man and his chimpanzee (who can sign). The second half of the book (roughly) deals with Joey's fight to save the chimp from being used as a test subject for pesticides.

      This book is young adult fiction through and through, based on my experience. There's enough school life, friends, and boys to have that area accounted for in the story, but it plays a very small role in the larger story -- which reflects reality, to some extent. Characters are mostly flat and static, though Joey is more round and dynamic -- though not in unexpected ways. Actually, I hate the mother character: she is ridiculously closed minded to ASL. She's so controlling, I don't understand how Joey could have "grown so close" to her mother, though if that's the only person you're able to communicate with, and you've shared some horrific experiences with them, you will development attachment.

      Overall, a tear-jerker and endearing, and a good communicative story about being deaf and learning sign.
    • 5/5
      Hurt go happy was a really emotional story it was really sad but still really good its an amazing book that makes you fall in love with every caracter even if you think you wont. i loved it and would recomend it to anybody that likes books like my sisters keeper or love animals.
    • 4/5
      This is a book about a deaf girl who's mother will not allow her to learn sign language, because she (the mom) feels it would make her a freak. But she is really wants to learn how and ends up being taught how by an old man and his chimpanzee.I really liked this book, it had an interesting story line, even if you quickly realized the real case for her deafness. This was a sad book, happy most of the time, but sad.
    • 5/5
      Hurt go Happy is about a girls life who has hearing problems. She meets a man with a monkey who can do sign language. She learns to communicate without reading lips and struggling. This is a heartwarming story that you will not ever want to put down and never forget.
    • 5/5
      Rorby has written a powerful book. The characters are well-drawn and ring true. This story is a tear-jerker that raises the topics of abuse and animal cruelty, which are handled sensitively. This fast-moving plot will propel readers to find out what happens next and perhaps to learn more about the humane treatment of animals.
    • 5/5
      Thirteen year old Joanne "Joey" Willis has been deaf since the age of six. Her mother Ruth wants her to function in the hearing world by reading lips and adapting to school life with special sound monitors, but despite Ruth's efforts, Joey struggles to fit in and feels isolated from her classmates as well as her family. Things change when Joey meets Dr. Charles Mansell (Charlie) and his baby chimpanzee Sukari who both speak American Sign Language. Charlie begins to teach Joey ASL, opening up a whole new world of communication for her - against her mother's wishes. Sukari and Joey form a unique bond but when Charlie's situation changes, it is up to Joey to speak up for Sukari and protect the life of her new found friend. Hurt Go Happy is a captivating and believable novel, with details based on true events. The characters are richly drawn and ready to pull readers in from the very first chapter. Ginny Rorby expertly describes problems involving the culture clash between deaf and hearing people and also weaves several other serious issues into her story, including: animal rights, teen friendships, fitting in at school, family conflicts, homelessness, and abuse. Highly emotional and overwhelmingly powerful, Hurt Go Happy is an amazingly well written book.
    • 4/5
      Hurt Go Happy is a very heartbreaking book. It's about the friendship of a young girl and a chimpanzee. I highly reccomend it to anyone who would like to settle down toa good book.
    • 5/5
      Hurt Go Happy is the story of love, compasion, and understanding. When Joey goes off into the woods behind her house she finds an old man named Charlie. Charlie takes her up to his house and shows her around. Very soon Joey learns of another pet of Charlie's, a chimpanzee named Sukari. Sukari can also use sign language to talk. Charlie tries to teach sign language to Joey who is deaf, but Joey mother does not her to learn it. Joey's life goes smoothly but then one tragic earth quake changes everyones world.
    • 4/5
      This one stayed with me for a long time. The poignant story of a Deaf girl who makes friends with an old man and his chimpanzee deals with issues of friendship, deafness, and animal rights.
    • 4/5
      This may be my favorite YA read so far! This is about a deaf girl, Joey, whose mother doesn't want her to learn to sign; she meets a man whose parents were deaf, so he is able to teach his pet chimpanzee to sign; then Joey begins a friendship with the chimpanzee through sign language -- well, it's hard to describe, but I could hardly put it down! I highly recommend it for any age!