Behind a Closed Door Bookclub Questions and Discussion Topics

Created by author, Christine Daigle (christinedaiglebooks.com)

SUGAR

1. Have you ever skimmed or not read the terms and conditions of apps or technology that you use frequently? (Let’s be honest. No one reads these). How does “Behind a Closed Door” exploit our fear of not reading the fine print? Were there moments in the novel that made you reflect on your own digital habits and the permissions you grant to applications?
2. Could you survive your daily life without your technology? In what ways does the novel comment on the power and influence of technology in our daily lives? Did the portrayal of the dangers of blindly trusting technology resonate with your own experiences or views? Do you think your technology is listening to you right now?
3. Paying the consequences for agreeing to something we haven’t read or haven’t understood is something that could happen in the real world. Has anything ever happened to you because you didn’t know what you were signing? Or maybe to someone you know? If so, how did you or the person you know deal with this experience in terms of explanation, rationalization, and closure?
4. How do Abby and Brendan rationalize their decisions to comply with the app’s requests? What would you have done in their position?
5. How did your feelings towards the app change as the narrative progressed? Were there moments where you empathized with Abby and Brendan’s decisions?
6. Hannah says, “You’re letting an app run your life.” Abby becomes dependent on the app to help her with her writing. What do you think are the costs and benefits of using technology to assist with creative work? What about dependence on technology in other aspects of our lives?
7. Dr. Bixby says, “If you free up some thought real estate with modern technology, the brain will utilize that space for something else. Instead of thinking about a map, I might be composing a sonata…” Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
8. Which task assigned by the app surprised you the most? Why?
9. Were there moments in the story where you felt Abby or Brendan should have stopped participating in the app’s tasks? Which moments stood out?
10. There’s a saying among writers that goes, “Write what you know.” What do you think drew from the author’s real-life experience that made it into Abby’s experience? Was there anything you learned about being an author that was interesting or surprising?
11. What do you think about the idea of a peer-to-peer lending company? Would you lend out your money to a vetted stranger, cutting out a traditional financial institution? Why or why not?
12. “Brendan got the impression the church had been built long before all else and would still be standing long after the rest was gone.” How did the setting of Robert Inverness Church contribute to the atmosphere and tension of the events that take place there? Discuss the juxtaposition of a century old building built for the pious in a pre-technology age with the modern high-tech debauchery going on inside. What do you think humanity and technology will look like a century from now? Two centuries?
13. Dr. Bixby says, “sex doesn’t define a relationship, but it is a good indicator of a relationship’s health.” Abby and Brendan start off the novel in couples’ therapy, partly because of a lack of physical intimacy. How did Abby and Brendan’s relationship grow or change throughout their experiences with the Sugar & Spice app? Do you think they benefitted from using the app? Do you think they would have ended up in the same place relationship-wise without using the app?
14. The Sugar & Spice app Abby and Brandon use is comparable to the type of apps we use at the present time. How might spicing up their relationship have played out differently ten years earlier? Ten years later?
15. The screens at the Fall Ball showed “photos of people with their Sugar & Spice level and total points and stats”. The gamification system of the Sugar & Spice app, using points to keep score, upped the competitiveness between Abby and Brandon, and between other players. How and where has gamification creeped into our lives? Does it push us to do things we wouldn’t typically want or need to do?
16. The novel addresses the concept of personal boundaries and the influence of external forces (like technology and other people) on challenging and redefining them. How did peer pressure and societal expectations influence the characters’ actions throughout the book? In particular, how did Hannah and Stuckey affect Abby and Brendan’s relationship?
17. What do you think is the backstory on Romeo and Juliet? What were they doing in the years between when Romeo got out of prison, and they met at the diner where Juliet worked? How did they get to where they were at the beginning of the novel?
18. Were there any characters outside of Abby and Brendan that you felt had a significant impact on the story or its themes? What would this story look like if these characters were the main characters with the narrative lens focused on them? How do you think the novel might give us a different perspective on the events if they were told by Stuckey and Hannah? Kim? Ana?
19. Abby and Brendan both imagine their futures together at different points in the novel. How do you imagine the future for Abby and Brendan? Will their relationship continue to strengthen or fall apart?

SPICE

20. The novel has been compared to “50 Shades of Grey” and David Fincher’s “The Game”. How do these comparisons manifest in the storyline and character dynamics?
21. How does the novel comment on the idea of seduction and the lines between consensual engagement and coercion?
22. How does the novel tackle themes of morality and the lengths one would go for a thrill or pleasure? Have you or someone you know done something for a thrill that didn’t turn out the way you expected?
23. How is the theme of “desire vs. consequence” explored throughout the narrative?
24. How did the author mix elements of eroticism with psychological thriller? Did it feel balanced?
25. Abby says that in her romance novels, “The sex is implied, but it happens behind closed doors. Off camera…Sometimes it’s better to let the reader’s imagination fill in the blanks.” Discuss the title “Behind a Closed Door.” How does it tie into the overall themes of the novel?
26. Which scene or moment in the book left the deepest impression on you, and why?
27. Dr. Donetti says, “Now, we need to talk about the sex thing.” Abby and Hannah are very different in their sexuality. Hannah is experimental and up for anything, whereas Abby is more traditional and shy. At least at first. How does Hannah push Abby to be more adventurous? Do you think Hannah is trying to be a good friend, or is she purely driven by ulterior motives? How does Abby’s attitude toward sex change?
28. Thriller novels tend to treat romance and sexuality according to certain tropes. Do you think that’s the case in “Behind a Closed Door”? What do you think about the balance between violence and sexuality compared to other thriller novels you read? How do you think “Behind a Closed Door” is the same or different?
29. Sugar or Spice? Go back and pick one or more of the Sugar & Spice prompts to answer as a group. Ready? Ok.