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 in the dorm the night before Christmas break was charged, holiday giddiness undercut by a run of tension because of what going home meant for so many River Valley students. Kayla, Charlie, and the rest of the girls on the floor spent the evening in and out of the common room, where the dormkeepers had set up stations for them to make gifts to bring to their families—origami ornaments and construction paper cards. Even Kayla seemed eager for the semester's end, but Charlie could not tap into the Christmas spirit. Another holiday to spend sitting at the table, bewildered and bored, trying to lipread her chewing mother. Until now, it hadn't occurred to her to wish for something better.