The Girls Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

Print PDF

For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Twins and our BookBrowse Review of The Girls.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The Girls is written as a fictional autobiography. Why do you think the author chose this format? Did you ever have to remind yourself while reading that The Girls is a novel rather than a memoir?
2. Rose and Ruby have spent every moment of their lives bound to each other, and yet they have forged two very distinct personalities and ways of looking at the world. What does this novel say about identity? How does each sister manifest individuality? In what ways do they borrow from each other?
3. The girls are accustomed to being stared at. But when they travel with Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash to Slovakia, they find themselves in a situation where for the first time in their lives not one person stares. Why does Rose find this so unsettling?

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