Reviews for You're Welcome, Universe
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Julia does graffiti art to elevate the spaces and people around her. She won't stop, even when a piece obscuring a slur about her friend Jordyn on the wall of Kingston School for the Deaf gets Julia expelled, and Jordyn doesn't even care. At public high school, Julia gains an interpreter who tattles on Julia to both of her moms, the unwanted adoration of a bubbly girl she dubs YP (for Yoga Pants), the ire of just about everyone else, and an insatiable urge to continue her risky art form. When YP persists in her efforts at friendship, Julia begins to let her guard down, bringing YP into her world of tagging and eventually learning that YP has some secrets of her own. Julia's motivations are complex, and the intersectionality of her character is appealingly realistic. Gardner brings together Deaf culture, discrimination, sexuality, friendship, body image, trust, betrayal, and even a potential Banksy spotting for this fresh novel, brightened by black-and-white illustrations from Julia's notebooks.--Booth, Heather Copyright 2017 Booklist
School Library Journal
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Gr 8 Up-After executing her best-ever graffiti, to cover up an insult written about her friend, Julia is kicked out of her Deaf school and mainstreamed. Frustrated by trying to connect with her hearing peers, Julia delves deeper into her art, only to find a rival defacing her finest creations. This debut novel is a dive into self-discovery for Julia and a compelling, engaging read for a wide variety of teens, including those interested in graffiti and street art. The author has clearly done her research on both Deaf and graffiti culture, and she incorporates details about both communities organically into the narrative. The translation of American Sign Language and Deafspeak to the page is done effectively, although it takes a backseat to native English narration. Julia, who has two mothers and resembles her parent of South Asian descent, inhabits many minority identities (disabled, a person of color, the child of same-sex parents, an English language learner) without any one of them being the engine for the story. She is a complex protagonist, and the secondary characters are well-developed, too. A few plot threads aren't fully explored, but overall, this is a well-told, artsy coming-of-age tale that is also an excellent representation of a Deaf protagonist. VERDICT The rich characterizations and focus on often underrepresented cultural communities make this a noteworthy debut for both school and public libraries.-L. Lee Butler, Hart Middle School, Washington, DC © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
