Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for Goodbye Earl by Leesa Cross-Smith

1. When Kasey returns to Goldie for the first time in fifteen years, she expresses many conflicting emotions. "How could the place she'd grown to hate so much look so pretty? How could even the rotten parts make her wistful?" How does this complex sense of home shape her character? Do you find Kasey's attitude toward her hometown relatable?
2. This story is told in parallel timelines and several different points of view, with the narrative jumping back and forth between 2004 and 2019 as well as between RACK's perspectives. What impact do these choices have on the book and how you experience it?
3. Rosemarie prides herself on being an open and honest person, but she keeps several weighty secrets over the course of the novel. How do these secrets affect her relationships with her loved ones?
4. What are the different ways love and loyalty are expressed in this book?
5. Ada is the main person taking care of her mother in the 2019 timeline, and she eventually has to ask her brothers for more support. What factors do you think contribute to the expectations—either explicit or implicit—Ada's family has for her?
6. How is Caroline's relationship to motherhood impacted by her relationship with her own mother? What other kinds of mother-daughter relationships do we see?
7. Goodbye Earl's subtitle is "A Revenge Novel." Discuss the role of revenge in the book. How does each girl/woman justify it? When do you think revenge is necessary? Do you agree with the characterization of RACK's actions as "revenge," or would you describe them in a different way?
8. Rosemarie, Ada, and Kasey all have different ways of coping with their emotions after they murder Trey. What do their reactions say about their characters?
9. Many people in the town of Goldie are quick to jump to Caroline and the rest of RACK's defense when Trey is found dead. What other benefits are there to this type of small-town community? What drawbacks are there?
10. What are the many ways women in this novel demonstrate agency?
11. How does Rosemarie's cancer affect her perspective on life?
12. Music plays a big role in Goodbye Earl, from the novel's name to the mentions of other songs and artists scattered throughout the story. What were the most fundamental songs of your own teenage years? Do you return to them as an adult?

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