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Shop nowHurt Go Happy
Narrator
Emily Bauer
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Length
7 hours 34 minutes
Language
English
Thirteen-year-old Joey Willis is used to being left out of conversations. Though she’s been deaf since the age of six, Joey’s mother has never allowed her to learn sign language. She strains to read the lips of those around her but often fails.
Everything changes when Joey meets Dr. Charles Mansell and his baby chimpanzee, Sukari. Her new friends use sign language to communicate, and Joey secretly begins learning to sign. Spending time with Charlie and Sukari, Joey has never been happier. She even starts making friends at school for the first time. But as Joey’s world blooms with possibilities, Charlie and Sukari’s choices begin to narrow—until Sukari’s very survival is in doubt.
Inspired by the true story of Lucy Temerlin, a chimpanzee raised as a human child, and the culmination of ten years of research, Hurt Go Happy is the heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting story of one girl's determination to save the life of a fellow creature-one who shares ninety-eight percent of our DNA and the ability to communicate her pain.
Ginny Rorby holds undergraduate degrees in biology and English from the University of Miami and an MFA in creative writing from Florida International University. Her young adult novel, Dolphin Sky, was nominated for the Keystone to Reading Book Award. She is also director of the Point Cabrillo Lightkeepers Association. She lives in Fort Bragg, California.
Emily Bauer is an award-winning voiceover actress who has read for dozens of popular audiobooks for children and adults, including Margery Williams’s Velveteen Rabbit, Meg Cabot’s Insatiable, and Ann Aguirre’s Enclave. Her film credits include Mona Lisa Smile and Long Distance. She has done voiceovers for Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Pokemon and has voiced scores of TV and radio commercials as well as cartoons, talking toys, and video games. She lives in New York.
Reviews
“This unusual and emotional story will intrigue animal lovers and those looking for a gripping family drama. The characters are well-crafted…The novel is beautifully written and believable.”
“Has the potential to be a classic animal story with wide appeal…Rorby successfully gets to the core of a moving animal-human relationship; she conveys how sign language can liberate those unable to speak or hear.”
“The writing shines when Rorby focuses on what is obviously her true passion: Sukari and the fate of chimpanzees like her."
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