The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

The crew features two pansexual relationships, one between Sissix and Rosemary and the other between Jenks and Lovey. How do the differences between these two relationships show the diversity of pansexual romance? What commonalities do they share?

Rosemary’s xenophilia is most obvious in her relationship with Sissix, but how else does it manifest?

How does Corbin serve as a foil for the book’s themes of chosen family and xenophilia?

How does the body kit for Lovey serve as a metaphor for gender transitioning?

Ashby and Sissix occasionally discuss the differences between their species. Despite their longstanding friendship, there are things about the other they find impossible to understand. What are they, and how do their discussions demonstrate how to discuss extreme cultural differences respectfully?

What are the contradictions in Gaiist thinking? Does their humancentrism make sense given the state of Earth? How do the novel’s themes undercut the Gaiist perspective?

How does the character of Jenks serve as a lens for understanding the theme of bodily autonomy?

What reason might there be that one xenophobic species like the Quelin is to integrate with the GC while another, the Toremi, is not?