True Biz

 

“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”.    

 

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