Book Club Questions

They say first impressions matter most. What was your impression of this book before you even read the first chapter? What expectations did you have? Were those expectations met?
Did you like the characters? Who was your favorite and why?
Why do you think Adele can’t simply put her childhood behind her and enter into a meaningful relationship with Jay? What about her relationship with her mother damaged her sense of healthy relationships?
What is Adele’s main character flaw? What does she need to get over in order to be an emotionally healthy person? Did her character flaws make you empathize with her? Or not?
There are two major sex scenes in this novel—one of which doesn’t go very well for the characters. Do you prefer to read sex scenes where everything goes smoothly? Or are you interested in love scenes that are less sexy, but more “real”?
Do you think Adele’s mother is one of the main characters? What is a main character? Does a main character have to be part of the book’s present day action? Or is main character status determined only by how a character influences the plot?
Adele and Beatrice have a hard time finding equilibrium in their relationship. Why? What’s the problem and why does it eventually go away?
In the end, it turns out that Beatrice (like Adele’s mother) has kept a secret about her family for a long time. Was she right to keep the secret? Was Adele’s mother? Are there situations when family secrets should be kept?
If a teenager like Kayleigh asked you to buy condoms for her “friend,” would you do it?
When Adele attempts to place Jay’s artwork in a gallery, she has both conscious motivations for her actions and unconscious motivations. What are those motives and how does each serve the other?
How did you feel about the ending of the book? Was it satisfying? Did you see it coming?