1. What did you think of the authors’ decision to flip the gender stereotypes, having the man be the romance fan and the woman be more into literary fiction?
2. If you could attend one of the literary events held at Happy Endings or Tabula Inscripta, which one would you go to?
3. Why do you think romance is sometimes looked down on as a genre? Do you enjoy reading genres other than romance?
4. Do you have a bookish pet peeve like the ones Josie and Ryan share?
5. Ryan and his staff have strong opinions about the third-act breakup. What’s your opinion on it, and did their discussion change your mind at all?
6. “Do audiobooks count as reading?” is a big debate in the literary community—did hearing Ryan’s experience with dyslexia and listening to books make you think about it differently?
7. How many books do you usually read at one time? Do you have purse, bathroom, kitchen, and bed books like Josie does?
8. What did you think of Ryan’s decision to quit and sacrifice his job without talking to Josie about it first? And what did you think about Josie’s decision to quit and go back to school?
9. Both Ryan’s and Josie’s views on love were influenced by their parents (Josie is distrusting of love, and Ryan believes when you know, you know). Could you relate to either of their beliefs?
10. Do you think Ryan should have told Josie who he was sooner?
11. Could you be friends with someone who hates your favorite book?

Excerpt from Until Next Summer

Continue reading for a preview of

UNTIL NEXT SUMMER

Available now!

Jessie

August

When I was a kid, I had a button on my backpack that read I Live Ten Months for Two. When people noticed it, I’d get one of two reactions: total confusion (Ten months of what? Does this poor girl have a terminal illness?), or a knowing smile.

The ones who smiled would inevitably ask one question. A question that let me know, without a doubt, that they were my kind of people:

“So where’d you go to camp?”

No matter the age gap or difference in our backgrounds, we’d start swapping stories, sharing memories. The gruff custodian at my elementary school bragged about winning Color Wars when he was fourteen. A bus driver sang his favorite camp song (The Princess Pat…lived in a tree), complete with hand motions. My pediatrician told me she once caught her marshmallow on fire and then, panicking, waved her roasting stick in the air, causing the marshmallow to fall onto her bare foot. She even showed me the burn scar, taking her shoe off in the middle of her clinic room while I waited for my twelve-year-old vaccinations.