True Biz by Sara Novic

True Biz

by Sara Novic

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • A “tender, beautiful and radiantly outraged” (The New York Times Book Review) 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

“For those who loved the Oscar-winning film CODA, a boarding school for deaf students is the setting for a kaleidoscope of experiences.”—The Washington Post

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Booklist

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 finals, and have politicians, doctors, 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 hearing headmistress, a CODA (child of deaf adult(s)) who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact, but might not be able to do both. As a series of crises both personal and political threaten to unravel each of them, Charlie, Austin, and February find their lives inextricable from one another—and changed forever.

This is a story of sign language and lip-reading, disability and civil rights, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and, above all, great persistence, daring, and joy. Absorbing and assured, idiosyncratic and relatable, this is an unforgettable journey into the Deaf community and a universal celebration of human connection.

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

4 of 5 stars

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Once again, I find myself saying thank you to BOTM – without it, books like this would have missed my radar completely (there are just SO MANY books to watch out for!). True Biz, written by Sara Novic, is a young adult novel that portrays a world that most of us have never personally experienced.

River Valley School for the Deaf is a prestigious school and is Charlie's new home. She has lived her whole life-fighting expectations, unable to communicate properly with her family, and relying on a cochlear implant that doesn't work properly.

Perhaps this is why she'll be at the center of a significant event at the school, where three students go missing. Or maybe it was inevitable, as these teens look for their people and themselves in a true coming of age tale.

“The fact that he had done this many times before mitigated the length of the homesickness, but not its intensity.”

True Biz is a fascinating read. Not only do we get such compelling personal character arcs, but readers can get a chance to learn more about deaf culture and sign language (Seriously, there are charts included throughout the book).

Admittedly, all of this information forced me to read True Biz slower than I usually do. On the bright side, I absorbed a lot, which I am very grateful for. I should also mention that Charlie isn't the only perspective/story in this novel; hers is the one that hit me the hardest. The other two are equally compelling, but for totally different reasons. It's a comprehensive view of a complex and intricate story.

The cochlear implant part of this story is absolutely gut-wrenching. To think that this part is based on reality – with people knowingly implanting faulty implants into people (and children) is infuriating. I can't believe this isn't discussed more.

Honestly, I'm struggling to find all the words to describe True Biz. You're probably better off picking it up and experiencing it yourself, as no review will do it justice.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 July, 2022: Finished reading
  • 1 July, 2022: Reviewed