Lead Review (Hits Different)
- Book: Hits Different
- Location: Ibiza
- Author: Lizzie Huxley-Jones, Tasha Ghouri
“New adult” is a new genre covering the age group roughly 18 – 29 years old. This is the first novel I have read in this genre.
On the cover you already know the story is going to be set somewhere sunny, with just the hint of a man floating in an O-ring in the background, suggesting readers will be in for a touch of romance. Cassie is the star turn of this novel and early on we meet her sort-of boyfriend Mason, as they bond over arancini in a restaurant somewhere in York. She tells him how she has been chosen to be a dance understudy for the Rosa Cordova tour, an amazing feat because Cassie is not a professional dancer – in fact, she has only practised her dance moves at home and recorded them for her own learning. She is off to Ibiza to train with the superstar but Mason is not the supportive partner she had hoped he would be, passive aggressive and desultory about her hopes for her future.
Travelling with her will be Pen, her non-binary friend, who is like a quasi-sibling and is an all round good egg and ‘there’ for her when she needs their support. Cassie has been deaf from birth and now wears a cochlear implant, mirroring the author’s own situation in life. The author has taken the opportunity to pen a story that can be educative about the whole issue. She relates the ups and downs of the implant through the voice of the main protagonist and then uses her burgeoning friendship with lovely Levi (whom she and Pen met at the airpot on the way out) to initiate dialogue about the benefits and difficulties of wearing the device. It is certainly informative, although at times it can stray slightly into didactic territory because, as a reader, the narrative devices to impart the various messages are overtly clear. There is an eagerness to hammer a point home. She not only details the daily issues, the vulnerability, the struggles of hearing impairment but also looks at the responses encountered from people who are ignorant of what it means to be profoundly deaf. She also demonstrates how some people choose to wield their power and inexperience in attacking and belittling ways.
Cassie falls on her feet (no pun intended, given she is a dancer) and the story unfolds as she and her flat mates get on with the job in hand and get the chance to be out and about on the island. There is a burgeoning love interest to add interest to the story of dance and friendship, as Cassie grows in stature and confidence.
This coming-of-age story will be helpful to readers who want to understand more about the issues surrounding disability and difference. Tasha was the first deaf contestant to appear on Love Island and has a huge following on Instagram. The setting is clearly somewhere warm and although stark white houses, for example, are referenced, the sense of place isn’t particularly strong; but there IS mention of Fanta Limón, so bonus points for that! (And did you know there are c200 flavours of Fanta around the world? No? I didn’t either!).
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