The Girls of Good Fortune

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What were your favorite scenes in the book, and why? Which character’s inner conflicts resonated most powerfully for you?

2. What themes or concerns in this book do you find in other works by McMorris, such as Sold on a Monday (2018) or the coauthored novel When We Had Wings (2022)?

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

1. What were your perceptions of Celia as a character? Can you relate to her decision to hide part of her identity in order to avoid censure or prejudice?

3. Have you experienced or observed discrimination perpetuated against one ethnic group by another? What was your reaction? How did your response either align or differ from Celia’s reactions?

4. What does motherhood mean to Celia? Can you identify with her experience of motherhood? Why or why not?

5. Have you experienced marginalization, or have you undergone the kinds of displacement that Celia encounters? What aspects of her experience align with your own?

6. How did you perceive the novel’s view of family legacy and history? What favorite stories about your family do you like to tell?

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

1. How does the novel use shifting settings to depict the collision of many different social worlds? Does McMorris accurately depict the complexities of this time period?

2. What larger purposes does McMorris have in mentioning the Rock Springs and Hells Canyon massacres? How does her incorporation of anti-Chinese violence and anti-immigration sentiment act as an oblique commentary on contemporary social issues in the United States?

3. Discuss the various historical challenges that confront Chinese immigrants in the world today. You might wish to compare Celia’s experiences to the protagonists of other novels that explore the Chinese American experience, such as Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You (2014), C Pam Zhang’s How Much of These Hills is Gold (2020), or Jack Wang’s We Two Alone (2020).

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

1. How does the book’s complex narrative structure work to create tension, suspense, and foreshadowing?

2. Reflect on Celia’s shifting relationship with her Chinese heritage. What moments compel her to reclaim her cultural connections to her late father?

3. Discuss the book’s theme of justice and the ways to answer or remedy injustice. What measures, if any, are the most successful, at least in the novel?

4. Choose a favorite symbol, like the tunnels, bao, Celia’s string ring, or another symbol not featured in the guide. How does the author’s symbolic use of this object enhance the story’s underlying messages?

5. Discuss the roles of Lettie and Marie as both foils and accomplices to Celia. What lessons do they teach her, and what social models do they present?

6. Examine the contradictory actions of the Bettencourts throughout the novel. How do Edwin and Georgia both conform to and challenge the prejudices of their era?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Write a newspaper article announcing the wedding of Celia Hart and Stephen Bettencourt. Model it on newspaper articles of the time, but be sure to feature all of the novel’s dominant characters.

2. Write the letters that Celia might have sent to Stephen while he was at college, or conversely, write a series of letters from Stephen to Celia.

3. Write a chapter continuing the story from Pearl’s point of view, either as a child or an adult woman.