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To what audience would you recommend The Cover Girl? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style?
|
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10
|
98
|
November 18, 2025
|
|
Until the very end of the novel, Birdie insists that she was in control and knew what she was doing as a teenager. Why do you suppose she spent so much of her life denying she was taken advantage of?
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20
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129
|
November 18, 2025
|
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Is this novel a mobius strip?
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6
|
136
|
November 13, 2025
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Simon “bitterly regretted being too young to experience the meaty stuff of recent history.” Do you think the era was truly a momentous time, or does it only appear so in retrospect? Have you ever felt similarly?
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3
|
82
|
November 13, 2025
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Jackson thinks the “golden years” should be named the “rust years”, and they come “attended by a retinue of unfriendly ailments” (p. 195). What do you think he means? Do you agree with him?
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23
|
293
|
November 13, 2025
|
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What was your opinion about his family’s reaction to Ben’s injury (“Everyone in his family apart from Fran…believed in stoicism as if it were a religion” p. 82)? How do you think they helped or hurt his healing?
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9
|
102
|
November 13, 2025
|
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What are some connections you saw between Birdie in the past and Birdie in the present? How does her present-day life intersect with her past self?
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2
|
48
|
November 18, 2025
|
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Which time period interested you most – the 70s, 80s, or the 90s? What details stood out? Did you learn anything that surprised you?
|
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7
|
130
|
November 18, 2025
|
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Azrian’s death from AIDS changes Birdie’s life. She retires shortly after and spends a lot of time volunteering and donates a large sum of money to AIDS-related causes. Why do you suppose she took this course of action at this point in her life?
|
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8
|
48
|
November 18, 2025
|
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What do you think Birdie's life is like after the gala? What would she be doing in 2025?
|
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10
|
127
|
November 18, 2025
|
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Which supporting characters were you most drawn to? What made their storylines compelling?
|
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11
|
123
|
November 18, 2025
|
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In addition to taking the reader into the world of modeling, The Cover Girl also offers a behind-the-scenes look at a 1970s rock tour. What role does music play in the novel? How does Birdie's interaction with music change over time?
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5
|
84
|
November 18, 2025
|
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Reggie likes facts and procedure, while “Brodie’s MO was disruption” p. 124. What did you think of their two detective styles? Which one do you suspect you’d be more like?
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3
|
70
|
November 13, 2025
|
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Death at the Sign of the Rook is Kate Atkinson’s sixth book in the Jackson Brodie series. Have you read any of the others, and if so, how does this one compare? What do you like most about the series?
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16
|
221
|
November 13, 2025
|
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At what point did you realize Birdie did not have any spoken dialogue? What was the effect?
|
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14
|
128
|
November 18, 2025
|
|
Martha's final confrontation with North has lasting consequences for both of them. Do you think justice was done? What about as regards Rebecca's assault and Burgess's killing? Would you have made the same choice as Martha?
|
|
10
|
381
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
What does it mean for Birdie to be one of Harriet's Girls? How does this meaning change?
|
|
5
|
96
|
November 18, 2025
|
|
At one point, Lulu talks to Birdie about being a "baby groupie." Is this a scene you were familiar with? How might this experience impacted Lulu as she grew older?
|
|
2
|
62
|
November 18, 2025
|
|
Why do you suppose Birdie is able to maintain long-term friendships with Bernice and Bobby but not others with whom she worked?
|
|
8
|
88
|
November 18, 2025
|
|
What did you think about Dorothy Pagett’s funeral? Did you feel it was fitting? Why do you feel it proceeded the way it did?
|
|
3
|
99
|
November 13, 2025
|
|
Why no American village mayhem?
|
|
7
|
122
|
November 13, 2025
|
|
What did you make of Simon’s inability to believe in God, in spite of his profession? How about his bishop’s pastoral advice to “carry on as if you still believed” (p. 59)? Do you consider Simon a good vicar? Why or why not?
|
|
14
|
130
|
November 13, 2025
|
|
How do you think Harriet viewed Birdie? Did she truly care about her, or do you think she merely felt she was responsible for the teen because of her youth? Why do you suppose she wasn’t more vocal about the choices Birdie was making?
|
|
14
|
143
|
November 18, 2025
|
|
The book opens at Burton Makepeace, a grand estate fallen on hard times, during a murder mystery weekend. What did you think of the setting? Have you ever attended a murder mystery dinner or weekend, or would you like to?
|
|
12
|
104
|
November 13, 2025
|
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Jackson thinks, “some bits of the past you carried with you for ever, other bits you jettisoned as quickly as possible.” (p. 76) Do you agree with him? Why or why not?
|
|
8
|
93
|
November 13, 2025
|
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Tessa manipulates Beth into thinking Gabriel doesn't care about her (p. 284). Do you think she’s acting in Gabriel’s best interests, or just being cruel? If you were Tessa, what would you have done? What would you have done in Beth’s position?
|
|
20
|
237
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
To what audience would you recommend Death at the Sign of the Rook? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style
|
|
10
|
126
|
November 13, 2025
|
|
What audience would you recommend Broken Country to? Is there another book or author you’d recommend that you feel has a similar theme or style?
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|
17
|
530
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Discuss Beth’s journey of coming to terms with her son’s death. How does the arrival of Leo and Gabriel affect her ability to cope with that loss?
|
|
10
|
177
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
The novel ends with some explosive consequences and twists. Were you surprised by the revelations at the end? Did you see any of them coming? If so, when?
|
|
23
|
666
|
September 3, 2025
|