Song for a Whale

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

A deaf girl lives in a hearing family and goes to a hearing school. Her maternal grandparents were deaf, so her mother can sign well. However, her father struggles with signing. She is interested in electronics and repairing old radios. Her grandmother has not been herself since grandfather died. 

Then one day, they learn about a whale that communicates on a different frequency. The girl becomes keen to help the whale. She sympathizes with challenges communicating with other loved ones. She plans to create a song on the frequency of the whale. However, her parents do not want her to go see the whale. However, she learns that her grandmother had planned to go on an Alaska cruise before grandfather died. this cruise happens to go right to the area where the whale is. They hatch a secret plan together to go and visit the whale.

They both have a great time on the cruise. Grandma comes out of her shell and starts to become more social - even launching some deaf karaoke. They make other friends on the ship (that they communicate with by writing.) Then they hear bad news. The whale crew plans on tagging the whale without playing the song. There is also a chance they will not even see the whale. The girl plots to build her own whale speaker by using some electronic junk they can find. Eventually, she throws it out into the ocean. She jumps into the ocean as the whale coms to see her. Afterwards, grandma is doing well, and the girl's parents finally allow her to go to a deaf school. 

The book keeps you engaged, while building up plenty of sympathy for the main characters. The novel presents deaf communication in a matter-of-fact way. She is just thinking and communicating. We learn at times that they write things down to help communication. However, for the most part, she just communicates. The cruise part, on the other hand is a little off.  While there are some Alaskan cruises from San Francisco, most are from Seattle or Vancouver. A San Francisco cruise would be longer, making it unlikely to be completed in a short time. These are also less likely to go to additional locations within Alaska.  It would also be a major Jones act violation to exit the cruise the Alaska.