Allegedly Virtual Book Club discussion

When Mary is taken away from her mother, she is supposed to be taken care of by different state facilities. How is Mary treated by the adults and institutions in her life?

How would you describe Mary’s relationship with her mother? How does your understanding of their relationship change throughout the book? What major life event drives Mary to finally tell her story? Who is she trying to protect?

What language does Mary use to describe Ted and their relationship throughout the book? Is this the kind of relationship that you imagine for yourself? Why or why not?

Is there such a thing as an evil person? How does this book answer that question? How would you answer that question?

How has Mary’s environment and life choices shaped who she is? How has your environment and/or the choices you have made shaped you?

I really, really enjoyed this book!! It completely sucked me in and I finished it within 2 days. Even though the topic was not exactly cheerful, it was so well-written that was a successful distraction to the current state of affairs.

I love the narration and the order in which events are revealed. I feel like when I've read books like this before, I've been able to guess most of the outcomes. While reading allegedly, I felt like I could figure things out in a way that wasn't predictable, but still made me very comfortable with twists because it was almost like we were guided to the same conclusion.

All in all, excellent first book choice! I was fascinated by the story, disgusted with some of the relationships, equally sympathetic and upset at all the characters pretty much all the time. I'd like to re-read it in a few months and see what things I missed in the first read.

I agree where the book ended up was scary but satisfying.

it was a quick read which feels right for a YA novel.

So what's the next book