Reading Group Questions
1. At the beginning of the book, Susie sees Pippa’s text message to Alex – what did you think of her reaction? Do you think there was another way to handle that situation?
2. How did you feel about Pippa when you first encountered her in the book? Did that change as the story progressed?
3. What did you make of Susie’s decision to leave Alex on his own for the weekend after his redundancy? Did you understand her reasoning?
4. Did you feel that the ‘Dream House’ in Random-on-Sea was ever destined to make Susie and Alex happy?
5. How do Pippa, Susie and Alex’s past effect the decisions that they make over the course of the book?
6. Both Susie and Pippa have ‘absent’ mothers. Do you think this may have affected some of their decisions?
7. Would you describe Susie and Pippa as ‘good’ mothers?
8. At the end of the book, all of the protagonists are leading a ‘different kind of life’ – do you think that they will be content in their new realities?
9. The book explores different notions of what a family is. Which one, if any, seems to work best?