Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

True Biz by Sara Nović

35 reviews

kelly_e's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Title: True Biz
Author: Sara Nović
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: April 5, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Informative • Juvenile • Unresolved

📖 S Y N O P S I S

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. 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.

💭 T H O U G H T S

True Biz was my May 2024 pick from my 12 recommendations from 12 friends project for this year. I knew very little more than it being an own voices novel focusing on deaf culture and sign language. It was also selected as a Reese's Book pick in 2022.

I listened to the audiobook while I read along with a physical copy, and I must say what I appreciate the most about this novel is the layout. It's equal part informative with 'lessons' interspersed throughout the main plot. There is also a lot of historical detail surrounding deaf culture and pride, as well as the civil rights of the collective community. The use of the sound of sign as an additional element in the audiobook was unique and added an extra layer to the experience.

Beyond the educative aspect, the story touches on the universal power of human connection through complex relationships. The writing definitely felt very YA with so much staying very surface level and lots of angst.

What kept this from being a standout read? The ending. Plain and simple. It felt rushed and while some things were resolved, so much was left unresolved that it ended up feeling incomplete. It just wasn't it for me.

Overall, True Biz was an interesting coming-of-age story which enlightened me to the topic of deaf pride and many other aspects of sign language. I think I took away more from the learning side of things than I did from the actual story. Would definitely recommend this one to high school students and new adults.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• coming-of-age stories
• diverse representation
• YA fiction

⚠️ CW: ableism, medical content, medical trauma, injury/injury detail, grief, death, death of parent, car accident, drug use, alcohol, child abuse, dementia, religious bigotry, cursing, racism, sexual content, bullying, emotional abuse, vomit, pregnancy

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Sign language had been so thoroughly stigmatized that in trying to avoid it, parents had unknowingly opted for a modern version of institutionalization, locking their children away in their own minds." 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, Bullying, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, and Car accident

Minor: Cursing, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Dementia, Racism, Child abuse, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry

gabbygarcia's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Death of parent, and Ableism

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Grief, Cursing, Death, Medical trauma, Dementia, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Car accident, Abandonment, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury

Deaf discrimination

cochlear implant complications, discussion of forced surgeries

reviewsandreadathons's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Cursing, and Alcohol

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Vomit

anried's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Drug use, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Medical content

Minor: Car accident and Child abuse

paigedent's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

It’s an interesting perspective on deaf culture. Didn’t like the dark teen stuff of them doing a bunch of bad things. It also had no ending at all which was disappointing a lot of build up and then there was nothing. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, Torture, Racism, and Cursing

marioosa517's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Drug use, Alcohol, Medical content, Medical trauma, Ableism, Cursing, Dementia, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Child death, and Racism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Police brutality, and Vomit

jes312's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Ableism

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Cursing

jialianyang's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Loved this book. A perfect mix of plot, character development and education. I loved the perspective switching, the incorporation of ASL and Deaf culture and Deaf slang. It was a perfect supplemental book to my ASL class, but it would be great standalone read as well because it is so compelling. Definitely more of a young adult book, but in a good way.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Violence, Ableism, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, and Misogyny

lovealwaysadi's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Dementia, Ableism, Alcohol, Car accident, Chronic illness, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Grief, and Racism

Minor: Infidelity and Sexual content

wy_woman's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident and Physical abuse

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, Drug use, Alcohol, Gaslighting, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Grief, Racism, Classism, Sexual content, Cursing, and Infidelity