The Conditions of Will

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussions of rape, sexual violence, substance use, and addiction.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Discuss your overall impressions of The Conditions of Will. What were your favorite and/or least favorite aspects of Georgia Carter’s story, and why?

2. How did your experience reading The Conditions of Will compare to your experience reading Jessa Hastings’s other titles? What narrative overlaps did you notice between this text and titles like Magnolia Parks, Daisy Haites, and/or Never?

3. Compare and contrast The Conditions of Will to other works of contemporary romance and/or romantic suspense. What thematic parallels do you notice between Hastings’s title and titles like Mercedes Ron’s Our Fault and Brynne Weaver’s Scythe & Sparrow?

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

1. How did you respond to the revelation about Will’s love affair with Alexis Beauchêne? How did this plot twist alter your impressions of Will’s character, the Carter family, and Georgia’s narrative world?

2. The novel depicts and explores complicated family dynamics. How does the Carter family culture compare and contrast with your own? Which aspects of the family were most and/or least believable to you, and why?

3. Compare and contrast Oliver’s and Tennyson’s characters. How do their differences impact their relationship with each other and with Georgia? Who do you relate to more closely, and why?

4. Okatie, South Carolina is a conservative town. Describe the culture of this place and discuss its impact on Georgia’s character. How did growing up in Okatie contribute to her worldview? How does returning to Okatie challenge her?

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

1. The novel explores the possibilities of healing from sexual abuse via Georgia’s traumatic history. How do Hastings’s explorations relate to the #MeToo movement and contemporary discussions of consent, rape, and shame? Do you think Hastings’s representation is accurate and/or sensitive? Why or why not?

2. The novel casts both Sam and Oliver as people in recovery from alcohol and drug addictions. Explore the relevance of their experiences to the novel’s overarching explorations of personal trauma. Do Hasting’s representations of addiction reinforce or challenge stereotypes?

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

1. The Conditions of Will is written from Georgia’s first-person point of view. Explore how Georgia’s perspective relates to the novel’s structure, tone, and themes.

2. Discuss the relevance of setting to Georgia’s growth journey. How do micro and macro settings impact her emotionally and psychologically? For example, how does she respond to Okatie in general, and how do places like her bedroom or Stomp impact her differently in the present than in the past?

3. Explore the role of flashbacks within Georgia’s overarching account. What purpose do the flashbacks serve? What do they reveal about Georgia’s life in the past and her internal work in the present?

4. Discuss Georgia’s investment in her behavioral and psychological studies. How do these studies relate to the way she sees the world and regards others? How would her narrative differ if Georgia didn’t have this background?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If The Conditions of Will were adapted into a film, who would you cast in the leading roles? Which plot points would you omit, add, or alter to make the adaptation your own?

2. Imagine an alternate ending to Georgia’s story. How would her life change if Sam didn’t move to London? Write a final chapter from Georgia’s perspective in which she moves to California instead. How would a different ending elicit different thematic resonances?

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