Happy February! Carrie and I hope 2024 is treating you well and you’re finding plenty of time to cozy in with some good reads during these chilly months. While we planned to chat up The Women this month, we are pivoting a bit…we weren’t able to snag advanced copies of The Women, and since it’s not out until Tuesday, 2/6, we are skipping ahead to our next pick. No worries! We will still send a copy of The Women to last month’s winner and share our review in March, but for now, welcome to our The Teacher book club discussion. And make sure to enter the giveaway below for a copy of this hot new pick!
Freida McFadden is having a moment, and I love this for her. The Housemaid series is captivating (third book out in June! Movie in the works!), and her other titles get rave reviews too. But I have to say…The Teacher!! The pages flew and I was easily drawn in, but what got me with this book was THE ENDING. No spoiler alerts, I promise, but oh my goodness! As I read the Epilogue, my jaw dropped open, stayed that way until I finished and continued to gape cod fish style for at least a full minute afterward. So it’s definity a win you want to read.
The Teacher Book Club Discussion Questions (asked and answered to carefully avoid any spoiler alerts!)
- If you were Addie’s parent, how would you have handled the incident last year? I know it was mentioned as Addie was being dropped off on her first day of the new year that private school wasn’t an option, but I think this might be an instance when cyber school would be appropriate. The effects of bullying are terrifying.
- Why do you think Art Tuttle warned Eve about Addie? This confused me somewhat because if it was truly a matter of an innocent situation being misinterpreted, why did he seem almost fearful of Addie? I got the feeling there was more to this story than was told.
- What were the initial clues to the truth of Eve and Nate’s relationship? The cryptic comments about how others didn’t know what was really going on in their house and reference to their infrequent sex announced there were problems without giving away the truth of what had happened and was happening.
- Discuss boundaries between teachers and students. How were these initially crossed? As a parent of secondary school children, I was there shouting “No!” in my head at the thought of teachers giving students rides home, staying after hours alone with them, and overlooking protocol when rules were broken. In today’s society, none of these choices are appropriate or okay–unsafe for teachers and students!
- What were Addie’s faults? What were her strengths? Addie’s poor choices and impulsivity were pronounced, but I did admire her strength in not allowing the bullying to drag her down emotionally. She even stood up for herself, which shows strength of character.
- What was the significance of shoes to Eve? Were you surprised to learn about Jay? When Jay came on the scene, I was shocked! I thought Eve’s big secret was her shoe purchases, which served as a form of self-indulgence and something she could keep for herself, away from Nate. Her shoe habit was also an addiction in that she felt relief after making a shoe purchase.
- Discuss Hudson’s role throughout the book. I thought Hudson served as a marker of who Addie had been compared to who she had become. The pivotal point obviously being her father’s murder.
- Which character did you find yourself most drawn to as the story unfolded? Were you able to relate to any of them? This was a hard one for me. I thought Addie and Nate were so foolish for the choices they made. I was with Eve for a bit until her affair was revealed. None of them seemed capable of making mature, reasonable choices.
- Did you predict the ending at all? Absolutely not!
- What do you think the future holds for Addie? Will any of her behaviors continue throughout her life or will she be able to leave her past behind? I think it will be really hard for her to avoid boundary crossing and poor decision-making since it became such a tremendous part of her developmental years.
Thank you for joining our The Teacher book club discussion! We always love hearing your thoughts, so please chime in below! Are you a Freida McFadden fan?
And this month, we are changing it up a bit and giving away a copy of the book we have discussed above–leave a comment on this blog post or Instagram for your chance to win a copy of The Teacher!
It’s a good one, friends. Happy February and happy reading!
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for sending ARCs of The Teacher our way for review and giveaway. All opinions are 100% our own!
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Meredith says
Oh, this one is already no my TBR list; I hope it comes my way!
Meredith says
It’s so good!
Anonymous says
As a teacher myself – the first rule is to NEVER drive a child home. This opens
Meredith says
Hear hear! I was shocked this was done!