The Winemaker's Wife
Kristin Harmel, 2019
Gallery Books
432 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781982112301
Summary
The author of the engrossing international bestseller The Room on Rue Amelie returns with a moving story set amid the champagne vineyards of France during the darkest days of World War II.
• Champagne, 1940:
Ines has just married Michel, the owner of storied champagne house Maison Chauveau, when the Germans invade. As the danger mounts, Michel turns his back on his marriage to begin hiding munitions for the Résistance.
Ines fears they’ll be exposed, but for Celine, the French-Jewish wife of Chauveau’s chef de cave, the risk is even greater—rumors abound of Jews being shipped east to an unspeakable fate.
When Celine recklessly follows her heart in one desperate bid for happiness, and Ines makes a dangerous mistake with a Nazi collaborator, they risk the lives of those they love—and the vineyard that ties them together.
• New York, 2019:
Recently divorced, Liv Kent is at rock bottom when her feisty, eccentric French grandmother shows up unannounced, insisting on a trip to France. But the older woman has an ulterior motive—and a tragic, decades-old story to share.
When past and present finally collide, Liv finds herself on a road to salvation that leads right to the caves of the Maison Chauveau. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—May 4, 1979
• Born—Newton, Massachesettes, USA
• Education—B.A., University of Florida
• Currently—lives in Orlando, Florida
Kristin Harmel is an American author with more than a dozen novels to her name. Originally from Newton, Massachusetts, she gained her first writing experience at the age of 16 as a sports reporter for the St. Petersburg Times, and Tampa Bay All Sports magazine while still attending Northeast High School in St. Petersburg, Florida.
A graduate of the University of Florida, Harmel was a reporter for People magazine starting in 2000. Her work has appeared in dozens of other publications, including Men's Health, Glamour, YM, Teen People, People en Español, Runner's World, American Baby, Every Day With Rachel Ray, and more.
Harmel is the author of more than 10 books, which have been translated into many languages around the world. They include more recently including The Book of Lost Names (2020), The Winemaker’s Wife (2019), The Room on Rue Amelie (2018), and The Sweetness of Forgetting (2012).
Harmel resides in Orlando, Florida with her husband Jason. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 4/22/2015.)
Book Reviews
Harmel's engrossing latest reminds us that love, like resistance, begins with courage.
People
Unfolding in multiple viewpoints, the writing is atmospheric and rich, showcasing heavily researched topics of wine making and French Resistance efforts.… [A]touching story of love and loss in World War II France. —Laura Jones, Argos Community Schs., IN
Library Journal
[Part of the novel's plot] requires suspension of disbelief… [while in others] Harmel resorts to formulaic moments…. A somewhat entertaining but mostly predictable story.… [R]eaders who can't get enough WWII fiction will probably still enjoy it.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. This novel takes place in the champagne-producing region of France. How does the location play into the plot? Is the setting crucial to the story, or could this book have taken place at any vineyard during World War II?
2. Ines struggles with her place at the Maison Chauveau. She feels disrespected by her husband and left out of everything important. Did you feel sympathy for Ines’s predicament, or were you frustrated by her focus on her own problems? Or a mix of both?
3. Michel is not very attentive to Ines and doesn’t notice her attempts to be useful. However, he pays very close attention to Celine. Why do you think Michel was so frustrated with Inès?
4. Ines looks inward for much of the novel, and as a result, she misses a lot of the horror happening around her. How did you feel about her spending time with a Nazi collaborator? How do you think Ines justified it to herself?
5. Much of The Winemaker’s Wife revolves around characters being complacent in a time of crisis; therefore, it’s easy for one to be willfully blind to what’s really happening. Are there other times in history where this same observation applies?
6. Liv has her own struggles, including dealing with the end of her marriage. How does her situation compare with Ines’s predicament?
7. Celine goes through an emotional journey over the course of the novel, worrying about her family and her own safety. Her story, sadly, is dictated by the times she lived in. Did you feel satisfied with the way it turned out, or did you want Celine’s story to go differently?
8. Michel feels that he must defy the Nazis in any way he can. How did you feel about his resistance, with his knowing that he was putting others at Maison Chauveau in harm’s way?
9. Ines tries to help the Resistance, but those around her accuse her of only acting, as a way to prove that she’s useful—in essence, for still having selfish motives. How did you separate her motives from her actions? Is there something inherently selfish in every generous act?
10. Discuss what you learned about champagne making in The Winemaker’s Wife. How much did you know before you read the novel, and what did you learn from it?
11. Harmel surprises the reader with a twist, revealing new truths about modern-day Edith’s identity. Did you suspect that this was the case? Did it impact your understanding of the character of Ines?
12. The selfishness Ines displays has dire consequences at the end of the book. Do you think her work in the Resistance redeemed her?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
Blacktop Wasterland
S.A. Cosby, 2020
Flatiron Books
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250252685
Summary
A husband, a father, a son, a business owner…And the best getaway driver east of the Mississippi.
Beauregard "Bug" Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hard-working dad. Bug knows there’s no future in the man he used to be: known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast.
He thought he'd left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets.
When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can't-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver's seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with the smell of fear.
Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland … or die trying.
Like Ocean’s Eleven meets Drive, with a Southern noir twist, S. A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland is a searing, operatic story of a man pushed to his limits by poverty, race, and his own former life of crime. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
S. A. Cosby is a writer from Southeastern Virginia. He won the 2019 Anthony Award for Best Short Story for "The Grass Beneath My Feet", and his previous books include Brotherhood of the Blade and My Darkest Prayer. He resides in Gloucester, Virginia. When not writing, he is an avid hiker and chess player. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
A roaring, full-throttle thriller, crackling with tension and charm.… Cosby immediately displays a talent for well-tuned action, raising our heart rates and filling our nostrils with odors of gun smoke and burned rubber.… Cosby's voice is distinctive, and he plays a sharp-tongued Virgil as we descend into the Hades of bucolic poverty.
Daniel Hieh - New York Times Book Review
Violence-tinged heists, muscle cars, and dead-end poverty in America generate the full-on action and evocative atmosphere in this beautifully wrought tale.
Boston Globe
One of the year's strongest novels. The noir story quickly accelerates and doesn’t lose speed until it careens to its finale. It’s a look at race, responsibility, parenthood and identity via pin-perfect characters with realistic motives. Cosby invests Blacktop Wasteland with emotion while delivering a solid thriller.
South Florida Sun Sentinel
[A] high-octane neo-noir thriller…. The gritty, brutal narrative is complemented by the author’s sublime use of sensory description and… epic, jaw-dropping chase sequences…. Cosby is definitely a writer to watch.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review) Bug's got a conscience not typical of the thriller genre, but other than that, this debut novel recalls almost perfectly the classic heist thriller in the vein of Richard Stark's "Parker" novels. It'll go like hot cakes. —David Keymer, Cleveland
Library Journal
(Starred review) Cosby never misses a note in this high-energy read.… A superb work of crime fiction, uncompromisingly noir but deeply human.
Booklist
A gifted getaway driver desperately wants to go straight.… Beauregard’s anguish makes him a sympathetic lead. But the supporting cast isn't nearly as compelling.… The at-times action-packed ride can’t hide the fact that this one doesn't fire on all cylinders.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. "A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he was meant to be." —Frank A. Clark. This quote opens the novel. Do you feel this set the tone for the entire book? At the end of the novel, did you feel that Beauregard was a good father?
2. In the first chapter Beauregard is accused of cheating during a drag race. By the end of the chapter he has coerced an apology from the person that accused him. Does this indicate to you that Beauregard is a man of honor and integrity in a lawless world or that he is a character driven by rage and slights both perceived and implied?
3. Throughout the novel we are told about Beauregard’s love for his father’s ’71 Plymouth Duster. Do you feel that the Duster symbolizes Beauregard’s relationship with his father, and if so, how?
4. The novel makes several references to violence and its cyclical nature. "Money can’t fix it and love can’t tame it," as Beauregard says. Do you feel that a propensity for violence can be inherited? If so, can that cycle be broken?
5. Beauregard makes several references to being two individuals. At times he sees himself as Beauregard, loving father and husband, and at other times he sees himself as "Bug," outlaw getaway driver. Is this something that is universal? Do you believe we all possess this kind of duality?
6. At multiple points in the narrative Beauregard exhibits a high degree of intelligence. He is proficient in mathematics and mechanical engineering and strategy. Yet we see him seemingly drawn inexorably to illegal activities. In your life experiences, have you known someone of great intelligence who makes unfortunate decisions about their life? How much do you think Beauregard’s race and where he lives has to do with his choices or lack thereof?
7. Beauregard often thinks of his father in terms that seem both heroic and critical. At one point his mother even tells him he looks up to a ghost. Do you think by the end of the novel Beauregard’s feelings for his father have solidified one way or the other? If so, how do you think he feels about him?
8. Beauregard often speaks or thinks about people underestimating him, but one of his co-conspirators, Ronnie Sessions, is able to get the better of him, if only momentarily. Do you think Beauregard underestimated Ronnie, or did he mistakenly trust him? And what do you think is the difference in respect to Beauregard’s relationship with Ronnie?
9. What are some of the similarities and differences between Beauregard and Ronnie? Does it seem like they are two halves of the same coin or complete opposites?
10. Kelvin is Beauregard’s cousin and his best friend. How do you feel his fate will affect Beauregard going forward after the events of Blacktop Wasteland?
11. By the end of the novel, Beauregard’s prized Duster has been nearly demolished. Do you feel this is symbolic of a change in Beauregard as a person?
12. Despite their contentious relationship, Beauregard does his best to take care of his mother and look out for her best interests. Have you experienced a relationship with a family member that is difficult, and if so were you still able to have a positive emotional connection with that person?
13. Beauregard has a somewhat distant relationship with his daughter, Ariel, from a previous relationship. Yet her desire to go to college is one of the primary motivations for him returning to a life of crime. Did their relationship seem realistic? Did you notice any appreciable difference between his relationship with Ariel and his sons?
14. Toward the end of the book Ronnie remarks that the world is damaged. Beauregard responds that the world is fine, it’s men like him and Ronnie that are damaged. Do you believe this? How much do you think their surroundings and upbringing contributed to Ronnie and Beauregard’s later actions?
15. Beauregard assists a couple when their vehicle breaks down on the side of the road as he is casing the jewelry store. He takes them to a nearby hospital as the woman goes into labor. Later, Eric, the young man of the couple, is in the jewelry store when the robbery happens. He is accidentally killed by Quan. When Beauregard finds out he reacts with anger and regret. How do you feel Eric’s death affected Beauregard? Do you believe his remorse was genuine?
16. At the end of the book Kia asks Beauregard if he will ever really change. Beauregard responds "I don’t know if I can." Do you think men like Beauregard can ever really change?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
What's Left of Me Is Yours
Stephanie Scott, 2020
Knopf Doubleday
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780385544702
Summary
A gripping debut set in modern-day Tokyo and inspired by a true crime. What's Left of Me Is Yours charts a young woman's search for the truth about her mother's life—and her murder.
In Japan, a covert industry has grown up around the "wakaresaseya" (literally "breaker-upper"), a person hired by one spouse to seduce the other in order to gain the advantage in divorce proceedings.
When Sato hires Kaitaro, a wakaresaseya agent, to have an affair with his wife, Rina, he assumes it will be an easy case.
But Sato has never truly understood Rina or her desires and Kaitaro's job is to do exactly that—until he does it too well. While Rina remains ignorant of the circumstances that brought them together, she and Kaitaro fall in a desperate, singular love, setting in motion a series of violent acts that will forever haunt her daughter's life.
Told from alternating points of view and across the breathtaking landscapes of Japan, Stephanie Scott exquisitely renders the affair and its intricate repercussions.
As Rina's daughter, Sumiko, fills in the gaps of her mother's story and her own memory, Scott probes the thorny psychological and moral grounds of the actions we take in the name of love, asking where we draw the line between passion and possession. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Stephanie Scott is a Singaporean and British writer who was born and raised in South East Asia. She read English Literature at the Universities of York and Cambridge and holds an M.S in Creative Writing from Oxford University.
Scott was awarded a British Association of Japanese Studies Toshiba Studentship for her anthropological work on What's Left of Me Is Yours and has been made a member of the British Japanese Law Association as a result of her research.
She also won the A.M. Heath Prize, the Jerwood Arvon Prize for Prose Fiction, and was a runner up for the Bridport Prize Peggy Chapman-Andrews Award. What's Left of Me Is Yours is her first novel. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
[A]n extraordinary window onto [Japanese] culture.… Each chapter of this enrapturing novel is elegantly brief and charged with barely contained emotion. Yet Scott’s subject remains vast: the idea that the law itself does not protect the innocent, and "that what matters most is knowledge—of ourselves and others,"
New York Times Book Review
Mesmerizing
Los Angeles Times
Fascinating.… [scott] braids her different characters' timelines together with sophistication, her storytelling harmoniously well-constructed. The big questions over whether it's better to lie or to tell a difficult truth, and what might constitute a betrayal, are layered across generations and decades and there is strength in the subtlety with which Scott slowly unpacks them.
Guardian (UK)
Scott deftly spins a web through modern day Tokyo in this captivating dual-perspective rendering of a young woman determined to find out the truth behind her mother's murder.
Newsweek
Sumiko works to resolve the mystery of her mother’s murder… bringing her closer to understanding the blurred line that exists between love and hate. Byzantine subplots, distinctive characters, and atmospheric settings will leave readers spellbound.
Publishers Weekly
Scott poignantly evokes both a mother trapped by the choices made for her and a daughter learning to deal with her own precarious freedom.… [W]ith carefully accumulated details [she] describes a Japan… teetering on the edge of change.
Booklist
The book proceeds slowly… perhaps not adding enough new information to maintain the level of interest set by the sensational details in the first pages. An unusual and stylish story of love and murder—less a mystery than a study of emotions and cultural mores.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Before reading the novel, had you heard of the wakaresaseya or "marriage breakup" industry? What do you think are the risks of this industry being allowed to operate? How does this relate to honey trapping in your own culture?
2. From the beginning, photography plays a large role in the novel. How does photography influence Sumiko’s telling of her mother’s story?
3. Sumiko notes early in the novel that the best lies are close to the truth. How does Kai prove this theory as he tells Rina about himself?
4. Sumiko observes that she struggles to imagine her mother as a young person, an individual separate from her motherhood: "When I think of her, it is as my mother, and I cannot picture her any other way." Have you ever heard a story about a family member and struggled to reconcile this with your own image and experience of him or her?
5. This novel revolves around a murder, but we learn the identity of the alleged murderer relatively early in the story. How does that affect your reading of the events leading up to the crime?
6. Almost every character in the novel struggles to balance multiple roles: parent, lover, child, professional, etc. Who do you think struggles the most?
7. How do physical objects trigger memories and emotions for Sumiko and Yoshi after Rina’s death? Do you have any talismans that remind you of people you’ve lost?
8. How is the Japanese justice system similar to or different from your own? What do you think of Yurie Kagashima’s defense of Kai? Is it a fair defense?
9. What do you think Sumiko means when she says that every member of her family, including her, is guilty of her mother’s death?
10. How do you think knowing the full truth about her mother’s death will affect Sumiko’s life after the action of the novel concludes? What do you think will be the significance of her "choice" at the very end? And is it the right one?
11. Is the law a character in its own right?
12. Are the locations in the novel characters in their own right? How do they affect and shape the narrative?
13. What do you think of the novel’s title? How does it apply to all the characters?
14. What economic and societal constraints are faced by the men and women in the novel? Have any of these issues featured in your own life?
15. How does the novel depict the tension between personal desire and the pressure to conform to social norms?
16. The novel is a mediation of all the different forms of love. What does love mean to you? Who from the book best exemplifies this definition of love?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
The Party Upstairs
Lee Conell, 2020
Penguin Publishing
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781984880277
Summary
An electrifying debut novel that unfolds in the course of a single day inside one genteel New York City apartment building, as tensions between the building's super and his grown-up daughter spark a crisis that will, by day's end, change everything.
Ruby has a strange relationship to privilege. She grew up the super's daughter in the basement of an Upper West Side co-op that gets more gentrified with each passing year.
Though not economically privileged herself, her close childhood friendship with Caroline, the daughter of affluent tenants, and the mere fact of living in such a wealthy neighborhood, close to her beloved Natural History Museum, brought her certain advantages, even expectations.
Naturally Ruby followed her dreams and took out loans to attend a prestigious small liberal arts college and explore her interest in art.
But now, out of school for a while, she is no closer to her dream job, or anything resembling it, and she's been forced by circumstances to do the last thing she wanted to do: move back in with her parents, back into the basement.
And Caroline is throwing one of her parties tonight, in her father's glorious penthouse apartment, a party Ruby looks forward to and dreads in equal measure.
With a thriller's narrative control, The Party Upstairs distills worlds of wisdom about families, great expectations, and the hidden violence of class into the gripping, darkly witty story of a single fateful day inside the Manhattan co-op Ruby calls home.
Told from the alternating points of view of Ruby and her father, the novel builds from the spark of an early morning argument between them to the ultimate conflagration to which it leads by day's end. By the time the ashes have cooled, the façade that masks the building's power structure will have burned away, and no party will be left unscathed. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Lee Conell is the author of the story collection Subcortical, which was awarded The Story Prize's Spotlight Award. Her short fiction has received the Chicago Tribune's Nelson Algren Award and appears in the Oxford American, Kenyon Review, Glimmer Train, American Short Fiction, and elsewhere.
She is the recipient of creative writing fellowships from the Japan-United States Friendship Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the Sewanee Writers' Conference. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
Conell, who won the Nelson Algren Literary Award for short fiction in 2016, ignites this suspenseful novel, taking place over a single day, with a passion, psychological insight, and a keen sensibility about class and economic difference
National Book Review
The Party Upstairs brings… Connell’s perceptive observation of how class and politics plays out in the real world, behind the metal chain securing an apartment door.
The Millions
Lee Conell has a keen eye for the grand delusions and small daily hypocrisies of a "classless" America…. [B]risk, canny fun—an upstairs-downstairs for the modern age.
Entertainment Weekly
(Starred review) Conell’s smashing debut creates a vivacious microcosm of life inside a tony Manhattan co-op building…. Conell’s talent for storytelling, wicked sense of humor, and compassion for her characters will leave readers eager for her next book.
Publishers Weekly
The Party Upstairs will make you laugh even as you grapple with how money defines many of its characters’ most significant choices.… [A]n on-the-nose, of-the-moment dark comedy that delves deep into issues of wealth, gender and privilege in the most iconic of American cities.
BookPage
Conell’s debut perfectly captures the… ways class informs every interaction, reaction, and relationship inside it.… [Her] writing remains cleareyed, darkly funny, and deeply empathetic. A slow-burning debut that keenly dissects privilege, power, and the devastation of unfulfilled expectations.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers Book Club Resources. They can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
(Resources by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)
A Beautifully Foolish Thing (A Carls Book-2)
Hank Green, 2020
Penguin Publishing
464 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781524743475
Summary
Who has the right to change the world forever?
How will we live online?
How do we find comfort in an increasingly isolated world?
The Carls disappeared the same way they appeared, in an instant. While the robots were on Earth, they caused confusion and destruction with only their presence.
Part of their maelstrom was the sudden viral fame and untimely death of April May: a young woman who stumbled into Carl’s path, giving them their name, becoming their advocate, and putting herself in the middle of an avalanche of conspiracy theories.
Months later, April’s friends are trying to find their footing in a post-Carl world.
Andy has picked up April’s mantle of fame, speaking at conferences and online; Maya, ravaged by grief, begins to follow a string of mysteries that she is convinced will lead her to April; and Miranda is contemplating defying her friends’ advice and pursuing a new scientific operation… one that might have repercussions beyond anyone’s comprehension.
Just as it is starting to seem like the gang may never learn the real story behind the events that changed their lives forever, a series of clues arrive—mysterious books that seem to predict the future and control the actions of their readers—all of which seems to suggest that April could be very much alive.
In the midst of the search for the truth and the search for April is a growing force, something that wants to capture our consciousness and even control our reality.
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is the bold and brilliant follow-up to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. It is a fast-paced adventure that is also a biting social commentary, asking hard, urgent questions about the way we live, our freedoms, our future, and how we handle the unknown. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—May 5, 1980
• Where—Birmingham, Alabama, USA
• Education—B.S., Eckerd College; M.S. University of Montana
• Currently—lives in Missoula, Montana
Hank Green is the CEO of Complexly, a production company that creates educational content, including Crash Course and SciShow, prompting The Washington Post to name him “one of America’s most popular science teachers.”
Complexly’s videos have been viewed more than two billion times on YouTube.
Green cofounded a number of other small businesses, including DFTBA.com, which helps online creators make money by selling cool stuff to their communities; and VidCon, the world’s largest conference for the online video community. In 2017, VidCon drew more than forty thousand attendees across three events in Anaheim, Amsterdam, and Australia.
Hank and his brother, John, also started the Project for Awesome, which last year raised more than two million dollars for charities, including Save the Children and Partners in Health. Hank lives in Montana with his wife, son, and cat. (From the publishers.)
Book Reviews
While there are many parallels to our current climate, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is a hopeful read that provides a "Black Mirror" like warning of new technology without the heavy feeling of dread. Green gives nuance to the privileges of escapism with humor and grace through main characters taking a chance on hope, even if it is beautifully foolish.
USA Today
If you’re looking for a novel that will offer escapism alongside stinging social commentary and just the right amount of cautious optimism for humanity’s future, this might be the perfect read.
BookRiot
Hank Green’s first novel, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, had us furiously flipping pages to solve the mystery of the Carls. The much-anticipated sequel is finally here, and it’s just as adventurous and addicting. You’ll hang on every last word as you wonder what really happened to April May.
HelloGiggles
[S]low-moving and philosophically dense sequel to the comic sci-fi novel An Absolutely Remarkable Thing.… Readers will have to hang in until… the plot begins to come together, but once it does, it’s thrilling to watch the puzzle pieces fall into place.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review) Throughout this adventurous, witty, and compelling novel, Green delivers sharp social commentary on the power of social media and both the benefits and horrendous consequences that follow when we give too much of ourselves to technology. —Carmen Clark, Elkhart P.L., IN
Library Journal
(Starred review) A raucous, boldly inventive tale of alien technology, social media and influencers, the limits of the human mind, and the lengths humans will go to get what they want. Even after a satisfying ending, readers will have much to think about.
Booklist
[C]ircuitous…. Green's debut was a better novel with a wildly intriguing setup, so it’s not surprising that getting things wrapped up is a bit of a twisty affair. A satisfying sequel with likable characters, playful humor, and a prescient sense of the foolishness of modern life.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for A BEAUTIFULLY FOOLISH ENDEAVOR … and then take off on your own:
1. Presuming you've read the first Carls novel, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (ART), is this book a worthy sequel? Why or why not?
2. In what way does A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor (BFE) reflect our own era back to us? Consider its take on these topics: capitalism, globalism, race, income disparity, technology.
3. (Follow-up to Question 1) Like its predecessor, BFE jumps into some of life's big questions, asking some fairly philosophical questions. One is this: in the age of technology, what does it mean to be human? How does the book address the question, and how do you?
4. (Follow-up to Questions 2 and 3) Another question Green poses to readers is about power—how it's used, to what ends, and who gets to wield it.
5. What is the degree to which the digital world pervades our culture, and what effect does it have on our humanity—especially on how we perceive our humanity?
6. The First Carls book left readers with ambiguity. What more do readers learn about the Carls this time around? What do you learn about their identity and motivation?
7. April was the center of ART, controlling the narrative voice. BFE varies the point of view, using the perspective of five narrators, as well as Tweets, podcasts, news articles, YouTube, and chat forums. Do you prefer one narrative strategy over the other? If so why?
8. Pick out one of your favorite quotations from the book and talk about why you chose it, its significance, and the extent to which, if any, it relates to your own life?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)