Reading guide for Nobody's Magic by Destiny O. Birdsong

Reading Guide Questions

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Having been sheltered her entire life, Suzette is gaining new skills and a greater understanding of her family and friends, and she must finally face the ways people in her life see her. Discuss how Suzette actively learns more about the world around her and accomplishes her goals. Discuss the ways in which the people around her helped or hindered her from reaching those goals. How did her relationships with those people evolve?
2. Maple's story examines three very different women: Maple, Momi, and Nana. In what ways do Maple and her grandmother approach their grief differently? Why do you think that is, and what could they learn from each other?
3. Discuss how Agnes's relationship with her sister, Berniece, shapes her life. What does she gain from the relationship and how does their relationship hurt her?
4. Discuss the way Agnes's section being written in the third person informed how you thought of her.
5. Compare and contrast Suzette's, Maple's, and Agnes's different relationships to themselves, their attitudes towards self-love and acceptance, and the ways they take on other's perceptions of them as women with albinism.
6. From losing her virginity to Doni and kissing her best friend, Drina, discuss the evolution of Suzette's sexual exploration. What are the similarities and differences in what drives Suzette, Maple, and Agnes's needs and desires?
7. Discuss the ways in which Chad helps Maple as she copes with the loss of her mother. What lessons about grief, loss, and life does she gain, and how was Chad able to help her do so?
8. Compare and contrast Agnes's relationship with Colin versus Prime. How does her relationship with these men affect how she sees herself?
9. Discuss the ways in which the men in Suzette's, Maple's, and Agnes's lives help or hinder them from reaching their goals.
10. All three women have difficult, fractured relationships with their parental figures. Discuss your thoughts on the strength of those family ties versus the ways Suzette, Maple, and Agnes perceive them?
11. Nobody's Magic takes place in Shreveport, Louisiana. How do you think the setting shapes the characters and events of the story? In what ways do you think the novel would be different if it took place somewhere else?

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.