Printable Book Club Questions for Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul

The novel is told through different timelines and perspectives—mainly Kitty in the past and Elise in the present. Did you like the use of multiple timelines? Were you more engaged with one timeline over the other?
Why was it important for us to also read Hazel’s, Kitty’s mother, perspective in the beginning?
Why did Hazel decide Mary (Kitty) should pass as White?
Mary is devastated when she finds out her mother sent her away to never return home again. She feels she’s left with no choice and now has to live as a White woman. Choices are a big theme of this novel. Do you agree that Mary had no choice in the direction of her life? Or should she had try to go back home to her mother and Richard and live a truthful life?
How did both Mary and Lillian change once they took on their new names? What are some of the key differences between Kitty and Emma and how they approach passing?
Some of the women who are passing do so in part to live what they believe is an easier life as a White woman compared to a Black woman during this time period. What are some examples of where it was indeed easier? And what are some key ways it was also much harder to live a life like that?
Kitty gets somewhat settled into her job at the Hollywood studio and she eventually meets a makeup artist who is also passing. This introduces her to a network of women, both passing and not, who are working to help those suffering through the Jim Crow South. Let’s talk about our thoughts about the sections dedicated to this work by the women.
Why was acting the right venue for Kitty?
Kitty eventually embarks on a romance with the studio head, Nathan. Do you feel they were actually in love? Why or why not?
Once Kitty finds out she’s pregnant, she believes she can’t keep the baby for fear that it will expose her true identity as a Black woman. Again, she believes she has no choice. What are your thoughts on this? Should she have told Nathan the truth? What would have happened if she did?
Kitty’s midwife Nellie eventually agrees to raise the baby, Sarah, as her own. Kitty ensures they are taken care of but she still wants to see Sarah. She even thinks to herself she’s happy to have a relationship with Sarah but at same time, she doesn’t envy Nellie’s constant motherhood duties. What does this thought process reveal about Kitty?
Kitty was Elise’s next door neighbor and two develop a special bond. And even when she learns the truth about Kitty—that she was her real grandmother—Elise never blames her for her decisions. While at the same time, Elise is frustrated with her mother and her absence during childhood. Why do you think Elise forgave Kitty but it’s harder for her to come to terms with her mother?
Sarah reveals that she was so angry when she found out Kitty is her real mother. Let’s talk about the impact of the revelation to Sarah. How did influence her own views of motherhood?
Why did Kitty wait until she passed away for Elise and the rest of the family to know the truth about their family? Why didn’t she tell Elise when she was alive?
While Elise thinks it’s time for the public to know the truth—Sarah doesn’t agree. Do you think Kitty wanted the world to know as well?
Elise wins the best actress Oscar and her in speech she reveals that Kitty is in fact her grandmother and in doing so reveals that Kitty was actually Black. She also said Kitty’s fortune will go to the reparations fund. Why did Elise decide to tell the world then?
What happens next for Elise and the rest of the family?