Beautiful Lies Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, and our BookBrowse Review of Beautiful Lies.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

About This Guide

In Lisa Unger's debut novel, she spins a web of deceit with her poignantly drawn characters. This guide is designed to help you explore her themes of choice, trust, freedom, and love.


About This Book

An expertly crafted literary thriller, Beautiful Lies introduces a compelling young heroine as she unravels how the choices she's made have turned her into the woman she's become.

Ridley Jones knows that the smallest coincidences can have more impact than the big decisions: She steps off the curb to save a child from being run over, and suddenly her face is plastered on every TV screen and newspaper in the country. When an unexpected note is left in her mailbox and a mysterious stranger appears, eager to help her solve the puzzle, her beautiful life is soon shattered.


Reader's Guide

1. One of the novel's main themes is choice, and how both big choices and little ones can have a profound impact on a person's life. Did Ridley have a choice in finding out the truth about her past? If she'd chosen to ignore the first picture and note, could she have avoided all the questions and secrets that arose?
2. Would it have been possible for Ridley to ignore the events of the past and still have developed a true sense of self? Would you be able to?
3. On page 17, Ridley says, "Freedom, I'd have to say is probably the most important thing to me, more important than youth, beauty, fame, money." Does this freedom Ridley craves influence the lies that have been told to her her entire life? Or is this freedom what could have protected her from asking questions about her past?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Three Rivers. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.