True Biz

Compelling, thought-provoking and absorbing, a brilliant new novel from the author of Girl at War. True biz (adj/exclamation; American Sign Language): really, seriously, definitely, real-talk True Biz 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, True Biz is an unforgettable journey into the Deaf community and a universal celebration of human connection.