Hurt Go Happy: A Novel

Joey is a magnificent protagonist, one of my favorites of the past few years, who has to fight to be heard (yeah, I guess that pun is intended). Her observations and reactions to life are pieces of gold for teachers like me. Metaphorically speaking, this is a treasure trove as well -- a trove of metaphors, that is. Rorby has developed wonderfully subtle metaphors as well as bold metaphors that should shake a student's understanding of what finely crafted writing is -- so much so that any student should be able to truly understand and appreciate that the best writing requires great thought, constant planning and driving passion.

i liked this book from the very start; thirteen year-old Joey Willis is deaf.She has been since she was six year-old.Ever since then most kids have been avoiding her and she does'nt have any friends-until she meets Dr.Charles Mansell and his chimpanzee Sukari who uses sign language to communicate.Joey wants to learn signing but her mother forbids her.Joey decide's to go against her mother's permission and starts to learn signing.She is much happier than she ever has been -she even has some friends at school- until a horrible tragedy occurs. Now it is up to Joey to see that the chimp's future will be happy for both her and Sukari... I loved this book because about how a deaf teenage girl feels and how she wants to protect an animal that shares 98% of our DNA.It also talks about how humans can be so cruel to their fellow beings. a great book for people who like dramatic,life-filled books yet also with a story that means loving and protecting is something that everyone-both human end animal-needs.

This book deals with animal cruelty as well as language barriers. Joey is a deaf 13 year old girl that befriends an older man, Charlie who owns a chimpanzee that can communicate with sign language. Throughout the course of the book Joey learns to sign, gains responsiblity for the chimp, and rescues her from a lab that is doing tests on her.