Jar of Hearts

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

1. Throughout the novel, Geo struggles with questions of worthiness and redemption. Which of her actions or choices resonated with you most deeply, and at what point, if any, did you feel she had earned forgiveness for her role in Angela’s death?

2. Kaiser maintained his love for Geo despite knowing of her involvement in Angela’s murder. What does his character reveal about the nature of forgiveness and unconditional love? How do his actions compare to those of other characters who encounter Geo after her release?

3. When Geo attempts to rebuild her life after prison, she encounters numerous obstacles to obtaining jobs, loans, and housing. What aspects of this portrayal of post-incarceration life surprised you, and what systems or attitudes contribute to these reintegration challenges?

4. The novel explores how people compartmentalize traumatic experiences to survive. What examples of this coping mechanism did you notice in different characters, and at what points did compartmentalization prove helpful or harmful?

5. Geo describes the Mason jar of cinnamon hearts as “the one that used to contain all her innocence, all her goodness” (220). What objects in your life have taken on symbolic meaning over time, and how has your relationship with them evolved?

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

1. The community’s reaction to Geo after her release—including hateful graffiti, verbal attacks, and social ostracism—raises questions about forgiveness and reintegration. How do these depictions challenge or reinforce your views on societal treatment of those who have served their sentences?

2. Calvin’s characterization as charming and physically attractive plays into certain tropes about serial killers in fiction and media. How does the novel navigate the tension between humanizing its villain and avoiding the glamorization of violence?

3. The novel suggests that while education about abusive relationships exists, it often fails to address the reasons people stay with abusive partners. Which aspects of manipulation and control depicted in Calvin and Geo’s relationship illuminate these reasons?

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

1. Each part of the novel corresponds to one of the five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. How does each section embody its respective stage, and what does this structure reveal about the characters’ journeys through trauma and healing?

2. The Mason jar filled with cinnamon hearts evolves as a symbol throughout the novel. When Geo tries to break it by throwing it against the wall, it doesn’t break. What does this moment represent within the context of the novel’s themes of trauma and resilience?

3. Jar of Hearts employs nonlinear storytelling through extensive flashbacks. How does this narrative technique create suspense and contribute to the novel’s exploration of how the past continues to affect the present?

4. Dominic’s murder victims have their eyes gouged out or the words “SEE ME” written on their bodies. How do these signature elements function symbolically in relation to themes of visibility, recognition, and inherited trauma?

5. The novel incorporates 1990s pop culture references to establish its flashback setting, such as Calvin bearing a resemblance to Jared Leto and Kurt Cobain. How do these references contribute to the characterization of the teenage protagonists and their world?