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The library books on Japanese Sign Language that Shoya used to teach himself to sign — the evidence of his years of quiet, private preparation.
Shoya taught himself sign language from library books over years, in private, telling no one. He did not frame this to himself as an apology or even a plan — or if he did, he did not let himself finish the thought. But he kept going back, kept checking out the books, kept practicing. When he signs to Shoko when they meet again, this is what he is offering: years of self-study, conducted alone, directed at her, in a form she will recognize as effort. It is one of the story's most quietly devastating moments — not a grand gesture, but the evidence of a long, private one.
Standard library books — instructional guides to JSL with illustrated diagrams of handshapes and movements, worn from repeated checking-out. The kind of book you would find in the reference section of a public library, practical and unglamorous.
Also known as: sign language books, JSL books, library books