Meet Me at the Lake

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of death.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What did you think of Fortune’s decision to structure the story with alternating timelines between Fern and Will’s first meeting and their reunion 10 years later? How did this back-and-forth approach shape your understanding of their relationship and the choices they made?

2. Meet Me at the Lake follows the popular second-chance romance trope, where former lovers reunite after years apart. Have you read other novels in this vein, such as Fortune’s debut, Every Summer After? How do these stories compare to each other in terms of emotional impact and believability?

3. Which aspects of Fern’s transformation from reluctant inheritor to passionate resort owner felt most convincing to you? How effectively did Fortune balance the romantic plot with Fern’s journey of self-discovery and grief processing?

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

1. Will tells Fern that “ten-year plans are bullshit” because no one knows where they’ll be in a decade (233). Looking at your own life, how do your plans from 10 years ago compare to your current reality? What unexpected turns have shaped your path in ways you never could have anticipated?

2. How do you think grief affects our ability to make clear decisions about our future? Have you ever faced important choices while dealing with loss or emotional turmoil, and how did your feelings influence the process?

3. What would it take for you to trust someone again after they abandoned you at a crucial moment? Both Fern and Will must decide whether to give their relationship a second chance after Will’s earlier betrayal, and Fern creates a specific list of requirements for rebuilding trust. How does their approach to forgiveness compare with your own experiences of hurt and reconciliation?

4. Fern feels obligated to fulfill her mother’s dreams for the resort because Maggie saved her life during her rebellious teenage years. Have you ever felt like you owed someone a commitment to a particular life path because of their sacrifices for you? How did you navigate the tension between gratitude and personal autonomy?

5. Peter accepts a relationship with Maggie where he always wanted more than she could give him, yet he finds contentment in what they shared. Have you been in a relationship where the emotional investment felt unbalanced? What insights from Peter’s experience might apply to your own understanding of love and compromise?

6. Fern’s decision to read her mother’s diaries again becomes a crucial part of her healing process, despite the pain these documents caused her as a teenager. What objects, writings, or places help you feel connected to people you’ve lost or important memories you want to preserve?

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

1. The guide notes that Meet Me at the Lake appeals to millennial readers and benefits from BookTok’s influence on romance novel popularity, reflecting broader changes in how literary communities form and share recommendations. How do you think social media platforms like BookTok have changed the way we discover and discuss books? 

2. Will becomes a father figure to his niece Sofia while living with his sister Annabel, creating a non-traditional family structure that provides stability and love. How does their arrangement reflect changing ideas about family responsibilities? What does this suggest about the different ways people can create supportive homes for children today?

3. Fern inherits a resort that is struggling against newer, flashier competition and economic pressures, and her situation mirrors what many young adults experience when inheriting family enterprises they never planned to run. What challenges do you see facing small, family-owned businesses in today’s economy?

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

1. How does Fortune use coffee throughout the novel to symbolize Fern’s emotional state and outlook? What does the progression from bad resort coffee to Fern’s French press to the “strong coffee” of her happy ending with Will reveal about her character development?

2. Why do you think Fortune chose to tell both timelines in the present tense, rather than using the past tense for the earlier storyline? What effect does this narrative choice have on the reading experience, and how does it emphasize the lasting impact of Fern and Will’s first day together?

3. Music serves as a symbol of affection between characters, from Peter and Fern’s shared playlists to Will’s gift of the Patti Smith album. How does Fortune use this motif to show the depth of relationships? What does the return of music to Peter’s kitchen after Maggie’s death reveal about his healing process?

4. In what ways does Brookbanks Resort function as more than just a setting in the novel? How does Fern’s relationship with the property mirror her emotional journey throughout the story, and what role does the resort play in connecting her to her mother’s memory?

5. Both Fern and Will undergo significant character changes between the ages of 22 and 32, becoming nearly opposites of the people they planned to be. How does Fortune use this contrast to explore the theme of plans versus reality? What does their transformation suggest about growth and adaptation in early adulthood?

6. How do the novel’s three main themes of plans versus reality; grief and tenderness; and second chances interconnect throughout the story? Which character’s journey best illustrates the relationship between all three concepts, and how do they influence each other?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Picture yourself as a casting director adapting Meet Me at the Lake for television. Which scenes from the novel would you most want to see brought to life on screen, and what visual elements of the lakeside setting would be crucial to capturing the story’s romantic atmosphere?

2. Music plays such an important role in connecting the characters that Fern and Peter communicate through shared playlists. What songs would you include on a playlist for Fern and Will’s relationship, and how would the music change from their first meeting to their eventual happy ending?

3. The novel ends with Fern beginning a diary for her unborn daughter, mirroring how Maggie’s diaries shaped Fern’s understanding of her own past. What advice do you think Fern would write to her daughter about love, family expectations, and following your own path? How might her words differ from the guidance Maggie would have given?

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