I love book clubs! And not just the food and wine and good conversation with smart women (because I have yet to find an all-guy book club -- but if you're out there email me!). Okay, it's mostly about the good grub and chat. But I also like to hear what readers have to say about BROAD STREET and I always love to talk about writing with people who love to read.
If you'd like me to talk with your book club, email me HERE. In addition to discussing what it's like to write that first novel, play in a band, and the always-precarious balance of work and motherhood, I can also share stories about the many other cool writers and artists I've met along the way through my work with Philadelphia Stories.
There is no charge for an author visit, and I usually come bearing cool giveaways!
Questions for Discussion for Book Clubs
- This novel is set in the 1990s and addresses themes of female empowerment. Both Margo and Kit say that they want to be as good, or better than, their male counterparts, but their behavior doesn’t always support this claim. In what ways to you think women undercut their own power? Do you think young women’s attitudes about feminism or female empowerment have changed significantly over the last ten years? Twenty years?
- Do you think Kit considers herself a feminist? Why or why not?
- What do you think is the central theme of Broad Street? How was this theme reflected through the characters’ actions and development?
- How did your impressions of Kit shift throughout the novel? What changes did her character make that most impressed you? What do you think she could have done differently or better?
- Kit always seems to make the wrong choices when it comes to men. Do you think these unhealthy choices are typical of young women? Why or why not? What might influence this decision-making in a positive or negative way?
- Kit and Margo become close friends who, by the end of the novel, have very different agendas. Do you think they will remain friends? Have you been able to maintain relationships with friends even after the things that first brought you together changed?
- At the beginning of the novel, Kit’s boyfriend Dale cheats on her, but once Broad Street begins to have some success, Dale wants her back. What do you think this says about his character?
- Throughout the course of the novel, we see both Kit and Margo change. How do you think music helps them to achieve confidence?
- Both Kit and Margo struggle in their relationships with their parents. Kit feels like she can never live up to her father’s intellectual expectations, and Margo is consistently embarrassed by her parents’ wildly inappropriate behavior. What influence do you think these parent-child relationships have on the characters’ behavior and decision-making? Why do you think this is a central theme in so many novels? Did it remind you of the way you and your parent relate to each other?
- Kit engages in some risky sexual behavior and experiments quite a bit with drugs. Did this disturb you or did you find this to be a common theme in coming-of-age novels and real-life experience?
- Towards the end of the novel, Kit and Margo sign a questionable contract with a record producer. Would you have done the same thing in their situation? Do you think this was a good decision on their part? Why or why not?
- Have you ever known anyone like Kit and Margo who march to the beat of their own drums? What do you admire about these people? What do you disapprove of? Have they had an effect on your life?
- Where do you see Kit and Margo in five or ten years? Still with Broad Street? Still in the music business? Or do you see their lives taking them away from music?
