Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

1. What do you think of Ines Murillo when we first meet her, primarily during the first third of the book? Ines views Catherine House with a certain disdain. Why? And why is she there?\
2. What is the past Ines is running from? How has that past shaped her? Does Ines change by the novel's end?
3. Institutions are not always what they seem. What were your first impressions of Catherine House—meant to be an exclusive school that has graduated some of the best and the brightest minds in the arts, sciences, and politics? When does your perspective begin to shift: at what point did you begin to suspect that the school is something other than what it claims to be?
4. How does Ines view the school—along with its demand that students are to give it their all. What does she observe about Catherine House that makes her skeptical?
5. Describe the strange rituals and traditions at Catherine House? Are they cult-like, benign, or something else? Why does the school choose the particular students it does? What do they want out of their students?
6. In the latter half of the book, we learn that the school is engaged in research into a substance called "plasma." What is plasma? The novel is rather vague about plasma, but discuss its nature and its effects as best you can? How would you describe Ines's first encounter with plasma?

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