Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Was Monstrilio the story you were expecting? Why, or why not? What surprised you most?

2. What did you like or dislike about the novel?

3. How does Monstrilio compare to other horror novels you might have read?

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

1. The characters often struggle to conform to others’ expectations for them, and worry that love may be conditional. Have you ever been in a relationship or situation where you worried you had to conform to be accepted? What did you do?

2. Have you had an experience with grief or loss? How did that affect your understanding of the story and the way the characters handled their own grief?

3. Joseph and Magos both grieve deeply, yet struggle to understand and communicate their feelings to one another. Did their situation ever remind you of an instance of miscommunication in your own life? How did your experience compare to theirs?

4. Magos eventually finds relief from her grief through performing a piece of performance art. Have you ever used art or another hobby to work through a difficult feeling? How did it help you?

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

1. How is queerness portrayed in the novel? How does it contribute to contemporary discourses around identity and self-acceptance?

2. The novel is a deep exploration of grief and its lasting effects. How does the novel reflect, or challenge, conventional ideas about grief? How do the characters’ ideas about grief reflect, or contradict, ideas about grief in your own culture?

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

1. Monstrilio is divided into four sections, each with a separate narrator. How did this structure affect the story? What new insights did each narrator bring?

2. Monstrilio takes place in Mexico City, New York, and Berlin. How does this global setting affect the story? What is the wider significance of each place in the text?

3. How does the novel portray the idea of family and parenthood?

4. Analyze the romantic and sexual dynamics in the novel. How do the characters experience love, sex, and romance? How do these elements affect their characterization and character arc?

5. How does Monstrilio compare to other novels that deal with monster trope? In what ways is it different or similar in its approach and/or depiction of the monster?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Draw your own monster and write a paragraph to describe it. What about your creature is frightening? What makes it lovable?

2. Imagine what happens after the end of the novel. What is M’s life in the wild like? How does his family move forward?