3. Compare Stella and Tilly. How are they alike? How are they different? Do you sympathize with one more than the other? Who needs whom the most: Does Tilly need Stella more, or does Stella need Tilly more?

4. Names play an interesting role in the story. The word “mom” is not often used—Abe calls Tilly by her first name, and both Dora and Tilly refer to Lucy as “Lucy.” Why do you think the author chose to have her characters refrain from using the word mother? What does it suggest about the nature of relationships in this family?

5. Tilly says: “People were always hidden behind their faces. I knew I never was” (p. 175). In light of this quote, think about the ways in which the characters in the story hide behind different “faces.” Consider Stella, Tom, Dora, and Abe. Do you agree with Tilly that she could never hide behind her face? Why or why not?

6. Almost every character has an addiction of some sort that she or he struggles with in the novel. Stella has an eating disorder, Tilly has alcohol, and Dora and Abe have work. What role do you think addictions play in the novel? Do you see these addictions as a cause or effect of the problems in the story? Does one character’s addiction lead to the other characters’ addictions? Why or why not?

7. How would you describe Abe’s character? Do you see him as sympathetic? Do you like him? Do you hate him? How does Stella see him? How does Tilly? Consider these questions in light of the fact that we never get Abe’s point of view directly and come to know him only through his relationship with Stella.

8. Tilly describes a bird that got caught in the trailer she shared with Fiona, saying, “I felt sorry for it. I couldn’t understand why it was stupid enough to stay” (77). Like the bird, Tilly decides to continue living in a place where she feels trapped—trapped by Fiona and trapped by her addiction and prostitution. Why do you think Tilly stayed? Do you think she had a choice?

9. Consider the structure of the story. What effect do the dual narrators have on the story? Why do you think the author used two narrators? Was it successful? Stella begins and ends the story. To what extent does the story become Stella’s?

10. Discuss Tilly’s relationship with Fiona. Their bond is protective and claustrophobic at once, intertwining elements of sisterly, maternal, and sexual love. Is Fiona filling a void for Tilly? What do you make of their eventual correspondence, once Fiona is in prison?

11. Turn to the epigraph and read aloud the excerpt from the Sylvia Plath poem “Nick and the Candlestick.” In light of this poem, discuss how you think pregnancy acts as a catalyst in the story. Consider Tilly, Stella, and Dora in your response.