Audre & Bash are Just Friends

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Audre & Bash Are Just Friends is a romance that also contains elements of comedy and drama. Which aspects of the story did you find most engaging?

2. Have you read any of Tia Williams’s other books, such as Seven Days in June or A Love Song for Ricki Wilde? If so, what similarities do you see between the stories’ themes? What sets this novel apart from the author’s other works?

3. Compare and contrast Audre & Bash Are Just Friends with other contemporary friends-to-lovers romance novels, such as Kate Goldbeck’s You, Again, or Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation. How does Williams’s utilization of romance conventions compare to the other authors’?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Both main characters are deeply impacted by their parents’ expectations. How did you feel about the novel’s depiction of family? Which relationships or moments resonated most with you and why?

2. The novel presents love as a powerful source of self-discovery. Has a romantic relationship taught you something valuable about yourself? If so, what did you learn from this experience?

3. Bash helps Audre let go of her tendency to meticulously curate her life and embrace authentic experience instead. Do you have someone in your life who encourages you to try new things and live more authentically? Consider sharing a story to explain your perspective.

4. Near the end of the novel, Audre decides that Bash is “her only real chance at happiness” (346). Do you believe in soulmates? Why or why not?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Bash’s father obsessively trains him to become an elite athlete, and Audre’s mother expects academic and personal excellence from her at all times. What does this novel have to say about the pressures adults place on young people in the real world?

2. Due to her traumatic experience on prom night, Audre has panic attacks. What insights can this story offer about the importance of mental health and how to help people with conditions like anxiety?

3. Bash cites the church Milton belongs to as a major contributor to his father’s antigay bias. How does the author use Milton’s character to critique how organized religion can be used to “other” groups of people in contemporary society?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Audre, Bash, and Reshma all serve as viewpoint characters. How does this authorial decision contribute to the novel’s character development, structure, and mood?

2. How does Williams use the family motto “Mercy girls do what can’t be done” to develop the novel’s discussion about the pressure of family expectations (21)? What did Eva hope to achieve by teaching this motto to Audre, and what effect does it actually have on the protagonist?

3. How does the setting of a summer in contemporary Brooklyn impact the story’s mood, characters, and structure?

4. How does Audre’s self-help book contribute to the novel’s structure? How does the book that Audre ultimately writes differ from the one she originally envisions, and how does that change contribute to the novel’s meaning?

5. Choose a few of the symbols used in the novel and discuss their use in the narrative. Trace their significance to the novel’s structure, love story, and meaning.

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. In one of the novel’s key scenes, Bash gives Audre a tattoo. Draw a tattoo that represents one of the novel’s themes or relationships and share your design with the group.

2. Imagine a sequel for Audre & Bash Are Just Friends. What new Experience Challenges could the characters tackle? What other concepts and relationships introduced in this story would you like to see explored further?

3. Would you rather see this novel adapted into a movie or a TV show, and why? Who would you cast in the lead roles? Do you have any ideas for how the adaptation’s soundtrack could convey the romantic comedy’s mood and contemporary setting?