Sara Novic’s True Biz is the latest pick for Reese Witherspoon’s book club.
Witherspoon made the announcement on Instagram, calling the novel “an eye opening and heartfelt story about human connection and the beauty and adversity woven into the deaf community and culture.”
Novic’s novel, published Tuesday by Random House, follows students and a headmaster at a residential school for the Deaf community. A critic for Kirkus called the book “a coming-of-age story that explores the complexities of community and the ways in which language defines us.”
The book “is all about ways that families find to stand up for themselves and for their children,” Witherspoon said in a video, accompanied by Novic providing American Sign Language interpretation. “It’s about human connection, and it’s written so beautifully and accurately.”
In an interview with Electric Literature, Novic, who is deaf, said writing the book was “a balancing act.”
“I want a place where Deaf people can see themselves and their experiences, but at the same time, I still want hearing people to learn and see these characters in ways that they can identify with,” she said.
She reacted to her book’s selection on Instagram, writing, “See me here simultaneously fulfilling my dream of being a deaf terp-in-a-box, and losing my damn mind. This one’s for deaf + disabled kids everywhere.”
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
