“True Biz” by Sara Novic
Published by Random House
Finished 5/1/22 – 4/5 stars
This is a lot more than a coming-of-age story. This book gives you an inside look into
various elements of the deaf community.
There are hearing individuals born into deaf families, deaf children
born into hearing families, families of acceptance, and families in
denial. It also touches on the impacts
of cochlear implants, videophones, schools for the deaf, and, of course, sign
language. And thrown into the book are “assignments”
with added information to help educate you on the history of sign language, the
deaf community, and some of the struggles they have faced. Some might see them as a distraction from the
story but truly, they are additional helpful insights.
The issues I have with the book – drinking and drug use by
minors (normally it doesn’t bother me in a book, but the way it is portrayed
here seems a little far-fetched), the occasional feel of more of a political agenda
rather than story (thankfully it doesn’t happen often), and my biggest pet peeve
– there are no quotation marks. Obviously
these issues don’t take away too much from the book because I still give it a
4.
I do recommend reading the physical book to make sure you
are getting the proper layout for signed conversations and the drawings of
signs at the tops of chapters and within some of the “assignments”.
#TrueBiz
#SaraNovic
#RandomHouse
#2022Reads
