Anyone else finding this May stretch to be a bit tricky?? While I am not-so-secretly loving the absence of end-of-year parties and parent-chaperoned field days this year, the tough drive to push our kiddos through these last days while summer scheming and vacation planning is still taking its toll. As always, when life touches the stress point, I grasp for my go-to friendly escape of books, and what a sweet find in this month’s pick. Last month’s In the Quick book club discussion was AMAZING and thanks for joining Carrie and me for our Twice Shy Book Club discussion this month–read on for the scoop!
Twice Shy Book Club Discussion
I loved this book because it was sweet. And an escape. Exactly what the doctor ordered during these May days (see above!). It also spoke truths of redemption, hope and tenacity–all aces in my book.
Twice Shy Book Club Discussion Questions
- Maybell had such a special relationship with her grandmother, despite distance/time. Can you understand their close understanding? Discuss your own relationship with your grandparents. My grandparents were a consistent part of my life, but definitely more so when I was young. I can understand how an early relationship can be so tremendously impactful–grandparents hold a very special place in our young hearts!
- We are all so tremendously shaped by our early life experiences/childhoods. Discuss how this was evident with Maybell and Wesley. Maybell’s (understandable) distance from her parents lent her closer to her independence, and Wesley’s place in a large family made it understandable why finding his independent voice was a challenge.
- Violet was apparently a significant hoarder. How and why do you think people hoard as such? Do you have personal experience with this? This one is tricky for me, as my mother was a hoarder of items of monetary value–understandable as she was raised in poverty. As such, I have always attached emotional significance to my personal and objectivity is hard.
- I LOVED the house rehab storyline, I felt like this symbolized so much. What do you think the house renovation meant to/for Maybell and Wesley? I can’t speak for these sweet characters, but for me, it was very much a process of herding out the old and decayed, while ushering in the new and refreshed–hugely symbolic for character development!
- Maybell was very affected by her previous employment at the resort. How and why did this shape her current life so so much? Gah! I can too well understand the poison of difficult employment…Maybell’s job left her entrenched in an unhealthy work culture–one in which she undervalued and overworked. This caused her to doubt and question her worth, which is a toxic prospect at best.
- Maybell’s “best friend” treated her so poorly and took advantage of her. Have you ever been in a similar relationship? What advice might you offer to someone in this situation? I absolutely have–I feel like such relationships have sadly almost become rights of passage for young girls. Anything we can do shore up and build up our girls against this maltreatment is a win.
- The scavenger hunt was such a sweet part of this story. What did this mean for Violet and how was it part of Maybell and Wesley’s story? How fun was this! I loved how the hunt allowed Violet to cherish her husband while giving an opportunity for Maybell and Wesley to build their future.
- Discuss the meaning of the title, Twice Shy? What did this refer to in terms of the storyline? Carrie and I have discussed this–we aren’t sure!! Wesley was obviously shy and Maybell also hesitant. Was their dual uncertainty the “twice shy”??
Thanks so much for chatting this Twice Shy book club discussion with us, friends! We genuinely love chatting our picks with you each month and hearing your thoughts!
As always, a copy of our next pic is up for grabs for FREE! Comment on this blog post before 5/14/21 at 7am, and as long as you are 18 or older and love in the continental United States, you are eligible to win a copy of…
Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian
A young Puritan woman–faithful, resourceful, but afraid of the demons that dog her soul–plots her escape from a violent marriage in this riveting and propulsive novel of historical suspense from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant.
Boston, 1662. Mary Deerfield is twenty-four-years-old. Her skin is porcelain, her eyes delft blue, and in England she might have had many suitors. But here in the New World, amid this community of saints, Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. When Thomas, prone to drunken rage, drives a three-tined fork into the back of Mary’s hand, she resolves that she must divorce him to save her life. But in a world where every neighbor is watching for signs of the devil, a woman like Mary–a woman who harbors secret desires and finds it difficult to tolerate the brazen hypocrisy of so many men in the colony–soon becomes herself the object of suspicion and rumor. When tainted objects are discovered buried in Mary’s garden, when a boy she has treated with herbs and simples dies, and when their servant girl runs screaming in fright from her home, Mary must fight to not only escape her marriage, but also the gallows. A twisting, tightly plotted novel of historical suspense from one of our greatest storytellers, Hour of the Witch is a timely and terrifying story of socially sanctioned brutality and the original American witch hunt.
Friends, thank you! Thanks for joining this Twice Shy book club discussion, sharing your thoughts and hopping in the giveaway. Carrie and I truly enjoy sharing this chat with you every month and look forward to whatever you can add. Have a super May, loves!
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