Book Club Discussion Questions
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
"I set this story back in my own dreaming, small-town South, in my own time, 1961: that suspended time swung between two epochs that shaped America for good and all. I think I chose it because that turbulent transition was the greatest epiphany of my life, a crossing from the sweet, insular world I knew to another one, volatile and frightening and yet entirely necessary and right."
Plot Summary
Raised by her emotionally distant, widowed father, and their housekeeper, Peyton McKenzie has become a shy tomboy with a terrible secret. Her only outlet is The Losers' Club, where she and her fellow outcasts top one another with their day's humiliations. Though she knows it can't go on forever, Peyton is not ready to give up her only source of friends. At the cusp of becoming a woman, young Peyton is desperate to hold onto her childhood. Her prim Aunt Augusta, however, thinks it is high time she became a proper young Southern lady, and is about to introduce Peyton to the hateful world of hair stylists and party dresses. And then Peyton's long lost cousin, Nora, blows into town driving a hot pink convertible, and proceeds to turn the sheltered world of Lytton, Georgia, on its head. The Civil Rights Movement has passed Lytton by, and Nora, fresh from a wild life on the road, is hell-bent on shaking things up. She is a blast of fresh air, revitalizing the entire McKenzie household, and captivating the young Peyton. But Nora is a dangerous role model. She, too, has a dark secret in her past. When the truth is revealed, it stuns the quiet town, and teaches Peyton the necessity, and the price, of love.
Topics for Discussion - What role does Nana play in Peyton's life? Does she have special powers, or is she simply losing her mind? What is The Sight? Why does Nana fear Nora? Is she right to do so? Does your opinion of Nana change through the course of the novel?
- Why do you think desegregation has passed Lytton by? How has the Civil Rights movement impacted the town? In what ways is the McKenzie household a part of the changing times, and in what ways is it still a holdover from earlier days?
- How would you characterize Peyton's relationship with Boot? Why do you think she never plays with him when he visits her kitchen?
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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 HarperTorch.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.
