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You're Welcome, Universe
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
42 posts | 41 read | 45 to read
A vibrant, edgy, fresh new YA voice for fans of More Happy Than Not and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, packed with interior graffiti. When Julia finds a slur about her best friend scrawled across the back of the Kingston School for the Deaf, she covers it up with a beautiful (albeit illegal) graffiti mural. Her supposed best friend snitches, the principal expels her, and her two mothers set Julia up with a one-way ticket to a mainstream school in the suburbs, where she s treated like an outcast as the only deaf student. The last thing she has left is her art, and not even Banksy himself could convince her to give that up. Out in the burbs, Julia paints anywhere she can, eager to claim some turf of her own. But Julia soon learns that she might not be the only vandal in town. Someone is adding to her tags, making them better, showing off and showing Julia up in the process. She expected her art might get painted over by cops. But she never imagined getting dragged into a full-blown graffiti war. Told with wit and grit by debut author Whitney Gardner, who also provides gorgeous interior illustrations of Julia s graffiti tags, You re Welcome, Universe introduces audiences to a one-of-a-kind protagonist who is unabashedly herself no matter what life throws in her way."
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DinoMom
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Current read. I am enjoying the bits of artwork scattered through out the book. #roll100

ShelleyBooksie This looks interesting 8mo
41 likes1 comment
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DinoMom
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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My #roll100 reads for the month.

@PuddleJumper

PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 9mo
22 likes1 comment
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Khadija2023
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner

It's hard for her to transition to her new school from her old deaf school, because people speak to her not knowing she's deaf. The things she doesn't like are she has to have a chaperone everywhere she goes. Also she got hit in the head with a basketball and fell to the ground.

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Khadija2023
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner

My book is about a girl named Julie being expelled from her Deaf high school. She gets snitched on by her best friend for spraying graffiti on the wall. After getting expelled she has to go to a new school. Her new school isn't a Deaf high school. She has to learn to get used to her new school, routine, and friends.

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Rachiiebookdragon
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
Pickpick

A intriguing book 😊 3.75/5 Read as part of the April #Buzzwordathon - space words

5 likes1 stack add
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tenar
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

Late post for Oct #DisabilityReadathon!

This feels like a debut both in that it‘s rather unpolished and it‘s very fresh. Julia is a Deaf graffiti artist struggling after being transferred to a mainstream school. She‘s an authentic teen character - brash, fiery, self-centered, with a chip on her shoulder - and the direct & unadorned writing style conveys her intense personality. A delight: artwork in the novel, including graffiti, is illustrated!

17 likes1 stack add
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bibliobard
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

This was a lovely book to read. This is the story of Julia, a Deaf girl who gets in trouble for throwing up graffiti. I feel like the author did a good job of researching and I really appreciated that the illustrations were included to show off the art. The only thing that would have been better is if it were in color! #bbrc #teenangst

9 likes1 stack add
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bibliobard
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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This was my first Litsy exchange and I have to say after seeing the pictures from others I am definitely going to have to step my game up next time I participate in one.

Opened my #summerreadingswap package from @BennettBookworm and I was very excited to see the tea party book and candle! Thanks so much and I can‘t wait to try some of this stuff!

BennettBookworm You‘re welcome! These all looked so cool!! Happy Summer 🏖 5y
rather_be_reading i love it!! and a literary tea party!! 🌞 5y
12 likes2 comments
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Biensoul
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this one; I liked the art descriptions as well as the actual drawings.

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Deborah42
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

When someone graffitis a rude comment about her friend, Julia covers it with graffiti of her own. Her friend snitches and Julia gets expelled. At her new school, she struggles to connect with teachers and students who know little about deaf culture.

Julia, a street artist, is soon drawn into a turf war with another street artist who adds details to her tags almost as soon as she puts them up.

I loved the art and the portrayal of Deaf culture.

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emtobiasz
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Just started this one and really loving it. A graffiti artist teen gets kicked out of her Deaf school for tagging over a slur. Adjusting to a mainstream school is tough, to say the least. #hubchallenge #ya #yalit

57 likes2 stack adds
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OneBookishBabe
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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10 likes1 stack add
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okthislooksbad
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

Spent my birthday well by finishing up this one. Not at all what I had expected, but genuinely enjoyable. I think it might be an acquired taste, though - the writing style is more.. daring, I think would be the best word, than most. Adored Julia for her mad ten angst, loved Yoga Pants, loved the d/Deaf rep (I'm HoH and upset about the lack of rep in general) and how friendship was portrayed - this is also my #Friendship read for #Booked2018! ❤️❤️

Soubhiville Happy Birthday!🎊🎂🎉🎈 6y
Jas16 Happy Birthday 🎈🎁🎁🎉 6y
okthislooksbad @Soubhiville @Jas16 Thank you ❤️❤️ 6y
See All 7 Comments
mabell Happy Belated Birthday! 🎁📚🎈🎂 6y
okthislooksbad @mabell Thanks! ❤️ 6y
alisiakae Happy Belated Birthday!! This sounds like a good one. 6y
okthislooksbad @4thhouseontheleft Thank you! It very much is! 😄 6y
38 likes7 comments
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okthislooksbad
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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I'm currently battling it out with Windows and the most recent update that I can't get enough free space for. Taking a break with Aila before I resume my hunt for a USB stick so I can eradicate Windows from my laptop and get Ubuntu instead. Technology sucks, y'all. #dogsoflitsy #booksdogscoffee

JoScho Sweet dog 💕 6y
31 likes1 comment
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Peddler410
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Award challenge? This is mine — starting with this year‘s winners

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:

“Silent Days, Silent Dreams,” written and illustrated by Allen Say (ages 0 to 8).

“Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess,” written by Shari Green (ages 9-13).

“You‘re Welcome, Universe,” written and illustrated by Whitney Gardner (ages 14-18).

12 likes1 stack add
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Kelly
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Put reading this off too long and I plan on savoring it.

30 likes2 stack adds
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AnniesJournals
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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VicariousBookworm
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

Fun read with a rebellious teenager MC. Great Indian American and Deaf rep! I definitely recommend reading it.

7 likes1 stack add
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book__sorceress
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

A beautiful book about personal growth, street art (it includes awesome illustrations on the inside), and friendship, featuring a Deaf Indian MC.

graceslibrary Gorgeous!! So excited to read it! 💕 7y
book__sorceress @graceslibrary I hope you like it!! 😊 7y
4 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Booksyqueen_17
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Panpan

This book was just meh! The only thing that was great about it was the accurate deaf representation! (I am deaf, in case you did not know!) The author did her homework! I could not connect to Gardner's writing style. I also felt like the story didn't present anything concrete for me to bite on. Nothing really happened! I would not recommend this book at all! However, you can use this as a reference to learn more about the deaf culture.

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sprinkledpages
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

my feed has been SUCH a mess recently but i did want to share these two gorgeous books i picked up from my library! 👌🏼✨
i've already read you're welcome universe and it was such an awesome read and i'm really looking forward to getting to the bone witch because it sounds cool! 😌
have you read any of these? thoughts? 🤔

21 likes2 stack adds
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Catlikescookies
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
Pickpick

I am absolutely obsessed with this book. I learned quite a bit about deaf culture in ASL class and it was spot on.

DebinHawaii Welcome to Litsy!! 🎉📚👍😀Hope you enjoy it here! 7y
2 likes1 comment
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erinwroe
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Can't wait to start this book! Looking forward to (hopefully) good deaf/hard of hearing rep! I bought the pencil years ago at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, I love it because it's so purple! 😊
🌸
#bookworm #booknerd #bookgeek #bookfreak #bookdragon #bookhoarder #bookobsessed #booklover #bookish #books #litsy #yabooks #disabilityrep

10 likes3 stack adds
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night_shift
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

A story about friendship, graffiti, and Deaf culture that was just so stinking entertaining! I loved the art inside and seriously, just.. really great debut!

#YA #Deaf #POC

37 likes2 stack adds
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night_shift
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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A debut book by a Portlandian! So far, it's keep me pretty hooked! I don't really know much about how deaf people go about their average day, so I hope this is accurate!

#currentlyreading #localauthor #POC

35 likes2 stack adds
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eekabook
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

I read this book in a day- it was cute and light. I loved Julia and her perspective on the world, though I wasn't sure about some of the terms she used to refer to people like "toys." The added illustrations were nice, especially in terms of her art and the additions the mystery person added, but I wasn't sure that it wasn't used as a gimmick at some points. Totally recommended if you're looking for a fun afternoon read!

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eekabook
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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#aprilbookshowers day 17 is #onthenightstand and currently my nightstand just has two books! One I'm slowly reading and the other is what I'm going to read next after I finish The Hate U Give.

@RealLifeReading

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Germmagazine
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

"Gardner‘s debut has a little something for everyone and is extremely original; nothing can be compared to this book in the YA genre. For anyone looking for a closer examination of graffiti art, the intricacies of teen life, or the struggles of not being able to hear, check out You‘re Welcome, Universe as Julia tries to discover herself and uses her passions to express herself and also to get into a whole lot of trouble."

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Tweetyandyreads
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

I liked this. I read it in one sitting. I was consumed by a culture that has always fascinated me. I did think that there needed to be more. The ending was just there and I wasn't ready. Still, I enjoyed reading this.

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onesmartcupcake
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Feels like an appropriate book to read in line to go into the Hirshhorn Museum today. 🙂👩🏾‍🎨

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Jennie748
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

This was a really good story!

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NaturallyDusty
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

Second book this year with a deaf protagonist! Really enjoyed this one. Continuing my streak of female authors for #womenshistorymonth

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AshleyKorinE
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

How cute was this book about a Deaf, Indian MC who got kicked out of her school for graffiti only to get in a graffiti war at her new hearing school. I had never read from the perspective of someone who's Deaf before and it was very good and very interesting. The story mainly revolved around friendships and trusting others, with art thrown in the mix. Julia also has 2 moms! I don't know if the story is own voices but I really enjoyed it.

7 likes1 stack add
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okthislooksbad
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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I'm so excited about this book and the good reviews it's getting. Representation matters. Good representation matters. I'm HoH, not d/Deaf, but it's an overlooked disability that always seem to be the one ting that defines a character on the few occasions where it's even represented. I'm just... very happy about this book. And very excited to read it. (nudge nudge DK libraries)

19 likes1 stack add
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bookloaner
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Happy book birthday to 2 books I really loved! I really loved both main characters, Piper and Julia, and reading about their art. Go get 'em today! #teenlibrarian

6 likes1 stack add
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soulcleverbooks
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Reading this beautiful book and listening to Ed Sheeran's new album. Perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday. 💕

charissharpe What is this one about? Gorgeous cover! 7y
6 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Librarylady
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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I've been hearing good things about this one and so far I'm enjoying it. Loving that it is narrated by a deaf teenager. I can think of only one other middle grade/YA novel that is also written in that perspective.

15 likes1 stack add
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bookloaner
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Happy ❤❤❤❤ day! I hope all of you are having a happy, book filled day. Now, back to reading!

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bookloaner
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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I'm really digging this book about a cool, teen graffiti artist. I am currently eating lunch and reading in the park and I saw this spray painted heart on the way here. I'm definitely already seeing tags and graffiti in a new way now. I love Julia's tag and how she uses it to claim her place in the world.

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bookloaner
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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So excited to read these soon! I started with Allegedly (which I'm about to finish) and I can't wait to get to the rest. 2017 is going to be a year of amazing releases and I feel like I have the longest list of anticipated books this year. I'm pretty lucky that my job gives me access to all the best books (I am totally #1 on that hold list for History is All You Left Me) #teenlibrarian

Librariana Oh my goodness!! You have The Inexplicable Logic of My Life!! 😍😍😍 Mr. Saenz was my Creative Writing teacher at University and I adored 7y
bookloaner @librariana ahhh how cool!! I loved that one too and I can't wait to start Inexplicable Logic 😍😍😍 7y
8 likes2 comments
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BreeanaShields
You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner
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Pickpick

Loved this one!