Black Blizzard

Hoping to start a new life, Thea's father moves the family to the Bloodless Valley in southern Colorado. But the rivers are drying up, the crops are failing, and black blizzards are returning. Thea feels like her life has come to a standstill: she is forbidden to go to school, borrow books from the library, or correspond with old friends. But the family needs money, so Thea works in a town café. There she meets deaf Ray. Thea's parents, who were born hard of hearing, always made her pretend to be a person with normal hearing. But now, as Ray secretly teaches her sign language, she understands what she has been lacking - not just a new language, but an entire community and possibly even a chance at love. 'Black Blizzard' is a haunting yet very fragile coming-of-age novel in which a hard-of-hearing teenage girl questions everything she knows about family, love, and her future.