Book Club Discussion Questions
For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Real-Life Nowhere Girls and our BookBrowse Review of The Nowhere Girls.
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
About the Book
Grace Salter is the new girl in town, whose family was run out of their former community after her southern Baptist preacher mom turned into a radical liberal after falling off a horse and bumping her head. Rosina Suarez is the queer punk girl in a conservative Mexican immigrant family, who dreams of a life playing music instead of babysitting her gaggle of cousins and waitressing at her uncle's restaurant. Erin Delillo is obsessed with two things: marine biology and
Star Trek: The Next Generation, but they aren't enough to distract her from her suspicion that she may in fact be an android. When Grace learns that Lucy Moynihan, the former occupant of her new home, was run out of town for having accused the popular guys at school of gang rape, she's incensed that Lucy never had justice. For their own personal reasons, Rosina and Erin feel just as deeply about Lucy's tragedy, so they form an anonymous group of girls at Prescott High to resist the sexist culture at their school, which includes boycotting sex of any kind with the male students.
Told in alternating perspectives, this groundbreaking novel is an indictment of rape culture and explores with bold honesty the deepest questions about teen girls and sexuality.
Writing Prompts/Discussion Questions
The following questions can be used as writing prompts, or, alternatively, they can be used as targeted questions for discussion and reflection.
- As the novel opens, Grace discovers the carved words which state, "Kill me now. I'm already dead." How does the discovery of Lucy Moynihan's powerful words shape Grace's approach to being new at her high school? Do you believe she may have behaved differently had this discovery not happened?
- Given the use of multiple narrators, chapters are labeled as "Grace," "Erin," "Rosina," or "Us." In what ways are the "Us" chapters unique? What do you think their inclusion offers to this story?
- What are your earliest impressions of Grace, Erin, and Rosina? What do each of these young women bring to their collective friendship? How would you characterize the relationship between them, and how does it change over the course of the novel?
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- How does the author develop themes of identity and belonging throughout the narrative?
- What role does the setting play in shaping the characters' decisions and relationships?
- Discuss how the ending reframes the events of the story. Were you surprised?
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Simon Pulse.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.
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