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Reading Group Guide
The
questions and discussion topics that follow are intended to
enhance your reading of Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack’s A
VERSION OF THE TRUTH.
FOR
DISCUSSION:
1.
Discuss the storytelling approach used in this novel. Did
you find Cassie’s first person narrative effective or
limiting? Do you perceive her inner voice as accounting for
reality? How would the story change if it were told in third
person?
2.
Comment on the setting of this book. What role does the wild
and beautiful nature of Topanga Canyon—and the many free
spirited people it attracts, like Cassie’s mother—play on
Cassie’s character and lifestyle?
3.
Discuss Cassie’s decision to lie on her resume when applying
for her job. Knowing all the extenuating circumstances that
could take away from this act of dishonesty (her financial
need, her learning disability, etc.), do you think it was
worth the risk? At one point in the novel, Cassie tells
Professor Pearce that she would tell the truth if she had to
do it over again. Do believe she would? Would you, if you
were in her position?
4.
Compare and contrast the three men we know to be Cassie’s
love interests in this novel: Frank, Freddy and Connor. In
what ways is she a different person when she is with each?
5.
What does it say about Cassie character that she considers
her parrot Sam one of her best friends? Why is she able to
connect with animals with such greater ease than people?
6.
Cassie says she enjoys being in the woods because “you can
be whoever you want—chatty and clever and stupid and ugly
and unloved and unkissed … and still feel like you belong.”
What do you make of this sentiment? How does this statement
go along with overarching themes in this novel?
7. In
what ways is Alison initially a foil for Cassie’s character.
Though she exudes perfection in her appearance, it seems she
doesn’t have much to offer below the surface. What do you
make of Cassie’s attempt to look and dress like her?
8.
Describe Cassie’s relationship with Tiff. What does she get
out of this friendship?
9.
After working with Professors Connor and Pearce, Cassie
begins her personal transformation and is able to grasp and
take pride in her natural intelligence. But all of her
accomplishments still hinge on her one unbearable untruth.
In your opinion, does this make any of them less genuine?
10. On
the whole, it seems Cassie’s reinvention of herself is
beneficial—she becomes more confident in her thinking, is
able to excel in intriguing classes, and find love. Are
there any negative aspects of her new lifestyle that you can
think of?
11.
Cassie’s mother named her after the Greek goddess Cassandra,
who could see the power of the future, but was cursed
because no one would believe what she proclaimed. How is the
root of Cassie’s name significant to her character, and to
the story?
12.
What does the ivory billed woodpecker symbolize to Cassie in
this book? Do you believe she ever really saw this elusive
bird? Even she doubts herself at the very end of the novel
saying, “Somewhere, deep down inside me, a thought creeps
into my head. I hear it as a whisper. I hear it as a
warning. Maybe the birds were never really there at all.”
What do you make of the author closing the story with these
words?
13. In
what ways do the characters, namely Cassie and Connor,
connect with the classic and popular authors that Kaufman
and Mack have woven into this story, like Walden, Thoreau,
Whitman, Muir, and others?
14.
Cassie’s best friend Tiffany tells her that there is such a
thing as “a version of the truth.” And Connor tells her that
“it’s not a lie if you believe it.” Do you agree with either
these statements?
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