September’s Book Pick: True Biz by Sara Novic
[ID: a book cover with an illustration of a hand in blocks of color including green and red sitting on a white shelf. Fake greenery surrounds it and a small globe sits on a leather journal to the left. Placed over the photo is an off white text graphic stating, “#ChronicallyIconicBookClub September Book”. A black fountain pen leans against the right side of the book and a sheaf of stickers with ASL signs sits in front.]
I’m happy to announce that the #ChronicallyIconicBookClub will be reading TRUE BIZ by Sara Nović for the month of September!
Written by a Deaf author, TRUE BIZ is a personal favorite of mine (see my full review here) so I’m thrilled the book club selected it! It’s a popular release so I recommend putting it on hold at your local library ASAP or buy from the following affiliate links to support the book club.
Our discussion will take place at the end of September in a private group chat on Instagram. Comment here or on Instagram if you’d like to join.
[ID: An off white book cover with a brightly colored illustrated hand on the cover making the “True Biz sign” surrounded by block text in purple, blue, green, and red letters spelling “True Biz”. A yellow and white circle label says “Reese’s Book Club” and at the bottom is the author’s name in black cursive.]
True Biz by Sara Nović
Representation: Deaf and Hard of Hearing characters
Summary: 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 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, cochlear implants 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.
Content warnings: drug use, underage drinking, ableism, discrimination, racism, dubious consent in the past, death of a parent, grief, child neglect, and questionable parenting.