Between Sisters

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

1. Discuss your reactions to the narrative revelation that Claire has a brain tumor. How did this plot twist alter your sense of the narrative trajectory and your engagement with Claire and Meg’s relationship?

2. The novel explores Personal Growth via Facing the Past. Compare and contrast Meg’s, Claire’s, and Joe’s fraught relationships with the past to your regard for the past. How have you had to confront your former experiences to grow?

3. Compare and contrast Meg’s and Claire’s characters. Who did you relate to more? Which character’s storyline, personality, and evolution was more resonant, and why?

4. All the primary characters eventually find themselves in Hayden. How do their experiences in and relationships with the town resonate with your communal spheres?

5. Meg and Claire have a fraught family history. Which aspects of their family culture are reminiscent of your family dynamics? Which facets of their family situation did you find least and/or most believable?

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

1. The novel is in conversation with contemporary discussions of mental health awareness and healing. Analyze Hannah’s representations of mental health, anxiety, trauma, grief, and therapy throughout the novel. Are her representations sensitive and/or accurate? How do her characters’ psychological journeys resonate with modern-day discussions of self-love, chosen family, and loneliness?

2. Between Sisters explores societal expectations regarding professional success and personal achievement. How do Claire and Meg’s careers and aspirations interact with the pressures of modern society? How does the narrative comment on the tension between personal fulfillment and traditional definitions of success, especially for women?

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

1. The novel is written from the third-person point of view. Analyze the narrative and thematic effect of this narrative vantage point. How would the novel’s themes resonate differently if written from Meg’s, Claire’s, and Joe’s first-person points of view?

2. Between Sisters is a work of contemporary women’s fiction. Explore how Hannah satisfies the parameters of her genre throughout the novel. How do you understand the role of Joe’s character amidst Meg’s and Claire’s storylines? Does his prominence upset the expectations of the genre? Why or why not?

3. Most of the novel is set between Seattle and Hayden. Explore the symbolic and atmospheric significance of these macro settings. How do the characters behave while in these places; how does the narrative mood or tenor change accordingly? Consider how the novel would change if it did not include both settings.

4. Identify three primary symbols in Between Sisters. Discuss your interpretation of these symbols and their role in Hannah’s larger thematic explorations. (Examples might include Claire’s wedding dress, Meg’s office, or Ali’s blanket.)

5. The novel is titled Between Sisters. How does this title dictate the narrative plot line? Is it an appropriate title, or is it misleading? Why?