True Biz

Hardcover, 400 pages

English language

Published Dec. 2, 2022 by Random House Publishing Group.

ISBN:
978-0-593-24150-9
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4 stars (8 reviews)

A transporting novel that follows a year of seismic romantic, political, and familial shifts for a teacher and her students at a boarding school for the deaf, from the acclaimed author of Girl at War.

True biz (adj/exclamation; American Sign Language): really, seriously, definitely, real-talk

True biz? The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history final, and have doctors, politicians, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. This revelatory novel plunges readers into the halls of a residential school for the deaf, where they'll meet Charlie, a rebellious transfer student who's never met another deaf person before; Austin, the school's golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the headmistress, who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact, but might not be able to …

3 editions

Review of 'True Biz' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

 A family member had spinal meningitis when she was a baby and it left her deaf. She got a cochlear implant and hears well enough to function normally. I mention this because [a:Sara Nović|8288614|Sara Nović|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1643757788p2/8288614.jpg]'s [b:True Biz|58395049|True Biz|Sara Nović|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642403959l/58395049.SY75.jpg|85399916] is about deaf teenagers and it addresses issues surrounding deafness.
 It's not just about teenagers but enough about them that it could pass as a Young Adult book. It's a sort of cri de coeur about the cultural issues around deafness. But it's not only that; if it were I'd have not liked it much. It seems like every other TV series has deaf characters in them and while I'm all for it, it slows the storytelling to a crawl. They always try to get around it by having someone who's not deaf but can sign say everything out loud, but that always comes off as fake.

 The atmosphere …

Dead culture would like a word with you

2 stars

Novic highlights American Deaf culture in True Biz, primarily following three people: Charlie, a new student at River Valley School for the Deaf (RVSD); February, headmistress of the school; and Austen, a deaf student from a deaf family in the area.

Charlie’s suffered most of her life with a malfunctioning cochlear implant. She hasn’t been afforded an opportunity to learn sign language, and is fairly behind students her age when she transfers to RSVD. February wants the best for her school and students, but seems to be losing the battle against the school district administration. Her marriage seems to be in shambles. Austen’s sister is born hearing, causing a bit of an identity crisis for him.

To me, Charlie and her friends are the most interesting parts of the book, as the book treats her story as a sort of coming-of-age. She undergoes the most growth in the book, whereas …

Review of 'True Biz' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I don't think I've read a book centered in the deaf community before. I wonder if that says more about me or the publishing industry? In any case, I really appreciated that aspect of this book, and – ignorant as I am – I learned a lot about deaf culture, sign language, and the ethics of trying to "fix" hearing impairment.

I think my star rating would be higher if I understood the protagonist a bit better. She seemed like a good kid, but made choices that stressed me out. It almost felt like two novellas were spliced together: one that is a coming of age story set at a deaf school; another that was a much darker "take down Big Pharma" kind of book. Maybe since that's the essence of being a teenager – trying to reconcile disparate emotions and aspects of identity – it will work for most …

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Subjects

  • American literature
  • Fiction
  • Deaf
  • American Sign Language

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