As rock band Dumb's manager, Piper has one month to get them a paying gig and a share of the profits. The only hitch is that she's deaf so she can't hear their music at all. Piper can't hear Dumb's music, but with growing self-confidence, a budding romance, and a new understanding of the decision her family made to buy a cochlear implant for her deaf baby sister, she discovers her own inner rock star and what it truly means to be a flavor of Dumb. 
 I simply can't stop raving about Five Flavors of Dumb. At first, I thought that the band name was a little offensive. For those who don't know, "dumb", when applied to deaf people who do not speak is an archaic term that is considered offensive. But fear not, Dumb's name was decided long before Piper came onboard and the plays on the band's name are pretty entertaining. 
 So anyway, Five Flavors of Dumb is amazing because of Piper. She's feisty, she's fierce and she doesn't take crap. She may be deaf but she can certainly stand her own ground. She's also smart and resourceful and when you see how she manages to work situations to her own benefit, you'd agree with me too. 
 A big theme in Five Flavors of Dumb is of course, deaf culture, in that there's signing in the book, how the family copes with both Piper's deafness and her sister's new cochlear implant and Piper's relationship with the different characters in the book becauseof her deafness. I'd like to bring out particularly, Piper's family. I really liked the way they were written. At first, her dad really comes across as a total bastard and he totally is, but throughout the book, he actually does a little growing and by the end of it, I think her entire family, and Piper herself, really grew as characters. 
 Romance isn't really that present in Five Flavors of Dumb and I liked it like that. When it was present, it was sweet, caring and really refreshing. Friendship, I suppose, is the glue of the novel. The band is the main focus and naturally, the band members are in the spotlight. With the exception of Josh, who is a complete asshat (you'll see why), everyone really bonded over this experience. There were tons of fights, catfights, mean words thrown about, but at the end of it all, they became friends and it was really good seeing how they grew and accepted each other tentatively and then completely at the end of the book. 
 Definitely recommending this to all!