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58 pages 1 hour read

Sara Novic

True Biz

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022

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Book Club Questions

True Biz

1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

  • Charlie changes significantly throughout the story. Did you like and approve of all of the changes in her character, or did you find some of the changes troubling? How did this impact your overall enjoyment of the novel?
  • Although True Biz is intended for adults, it is similar in some respects to Alison Gervais’s YA novel The Silence Between Us. If you have not read this book, read a summary of its plot. How are Charlie’s and Maya’s stories similar? How are they different? Do you think that Gervais and Novic are trying to convey similar messages, or do these two novels have conflicting perspectives?
  • Sara Novic has written many essays related to her experiences with deafness. You can find links to these on her author site. How do her nonfiction writings illuminate the ideas she is trying to communicate in True Biz?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

  • Charlie’s mother feels that she has a right to make the decision about cochlear implants for Charlie. Do you think that parents always have the right to make medical decisions for their minor children? Why or why not?
  • In True Biz, the Deaf community functions as an important support network for several characters, and the threat of River Valley’s closure is devastating. What groups, institutions, or communities are important in your life? How would you feel about their loss? What factors do you think might affect how different people might react to such losses?
  • How sympathetic are you to Charlie’s involvement in the plot to blow up the cochlear implant factory? Under what circumstances do you think an action like this is morally permissible?
  • February has a strong emotional reaction to learning that Charlie has never been taught ASL. How well does her reaction reflect your own? What does your reaction indicate about your own beliefs about language?
  • Novic portrays many of the obstacles that Deaf people encounter in contemporary America. Did any of these obstacles surprise or upset you? Did you find yourself wanting to learn more about any of these issues?

3. Societal and Cultural Context

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

  • Based on what you know, does Novic fully and accurately represent the range of opinions about cochlear implants that exists in contemporary Deaf culture? Does the novel seem to endorse one position more strongly than any other? Does its stance on this position have relevance to conversations surrounding disability more broadly?
  • What were the Deaf President Now protests that took place at Gallaudet University in 1988? How are these protests viewed by today’s Deaf community? What is their significance to True Biz?
  • February believes in creating a home-away-from-home for her students, many of whom have difficult lives outside of River Valley. What are some ways that today’s hearing schools are also trying to create this kind of refuge for students? Why are these efforts sometimes controversial?

4. Literary Analysis

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

  • How do the book’s shifts in perspective contribute to its characterizations? How does Novic structure these shifting perspectives to create meaningful juxtapositions, increase tension, and add complexity to the messages the story conveys?
  • What different beliefs about the meaning of deafness are revealed within Austin’s family when Skylar is born? Which set of beliefs does the novel seem to support most?
  • What significant differences exist between Charlie’s family life and Austin’s? How do these differences help mold Charlie’s and Austin’s personalities? 
  • Charlie and her mother have difficulty communicating with one another. How much of this is attributable to personality? How much is attributable to Charlie being Deaf and her mother being hearing? How much is attributable to the frictions that commonly occur between mothers and daughters? What point is Novic making by emphasizing their communication problems?
  • What does “true biz” mean within the American Deaf community? What is its significance as a title for this novel?

5. Creative Engagement 

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

  • What if Lynnette could wave a magic wand and turn Charlie into her “ideal” daughter? What might she wish for? What might Charlie wish for if she were wielding the same magic wand and could transform her mother? Would you ever want to have this kind of power to transform someone else?
  • At the end of the novel, the fate of River Valley is still undetermined. If you were writing a sequel to True Biz, would the school close or stay open? What would happen as a result? What themes would you be trying to convey through these choices?

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By Sara Novic