Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How did you feel about the novel beginning with Cussy’s imprisonment, a dramatic shift from her previous life as a Pack Horse librarian? For those who have read The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, how did this story build on or change your perception of Cussy’s character?

2. What was your immediate emotional reaction to the novel’s ending? Did you find Cussy and Jackson’s return to Kentucky after the Loving v. Virginia ruling a satisfying conclusion?

3. What part of Cussy’s journey, whether in the prison, in Louisville, or during her escape, has stayed with you the most since you finished reading, and what made it so powerful?

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

1. Cussy uses her role as a librarian to create a sense of purpose and community, even in the bleakest of circumstances. Think about a time when a specific role or responsibility gave you a sense of identity or purpose. What similarities do you see between your experience and Cussy’s determination to be the “Book Woman”?

2. Have you ever been part of a community that came together to help someone in a difficult situation? What does the novel’s depiction of the network of women who help Cussy suggest about the power of collective action?

3. Jackson feels miserable and displaced in the city, longing for the mountains he calls home. Have you ever felt a strong connection to a specific place or landscape? What do you think makes a place truly feel like home?

4. Throughout the story, books provide comfort, escape, and healing for the inmates. Can you recall a book that has had a similar impact on you during a challenging time? What is it about storytelling that offers such powerful solace?

5. When Cussy is in Louisville, she is struck by the anonymity of the city, where no one stares at her blue skin. Have you ever experienced a similar feeling of either standing out or blending in within a community? How did that environment affect your sense of self?

6. The novel shows characters like Sassyann and Irene using newfound literacy to connect with their families. Think about how you communicate with your loved ones. How have different forms of communication, from letter writing to modern technology, shaped your most important relationships?

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

1. Which of the historical elements central to the story, such as “miscegenation” laws, the eugenics movement, or “urban renewal” projects, surprised you the most? How does understanding this context change your reading of the characters’ struggles?

2. What does the inclusion of “The Negro Motorist Green Book” during the escape reveal about the everyday realities of navigating a segregated country? Where do you see communities today creating similar networks or guides for safety and support?

3. Warden Sanders justifies her cruel actions, like scheduling forced sterilizations and pregnancy terminations, as bureaucratic necessities for maintaining institutional order. Do you see similar dynamics at play in contemporary institutions? If so, where?

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

1. How does the recurring motif of “angel crowns” influence the story’s tone? 

2. The novel contrasts several institutional settings: the women’s reformatory, the men’s prison, the hospital, and the Western Colored Branch Library. How does Richardson use these different settings to explore themes of power, dehumanization, and sanctuary?

3. Cussy’s blue skin is the central symbol of her “otherness.” How does the meaning of this symbol shift throughout the narrative?

4. Warden Sanders and Regina Miles are presented as antagonists, yet the narrative reveals they are also victims of systemic abuse. How did learning about their past traumas affect your perception of them? Did it make their actions toward Cussy more complex or understandable?

5. Beyond teaching people to read and write, in what specific ways do books and the act of reading function as tools for healing, rebellion, and reclaiming humanity within the novel?

6. The story is a work of historical fiction, but it touches on themes found in dystopian novels like Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, particularly regarding state control over women’s bodies. Does grounding these themes in a real historical context, like the American eugenics movement, make the story more or less impactful for you than a speculative setting?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If you were to create a bookmobile route for a community you care about, what kinds of books and resources would you include? Whom would you most want to reach, and what impact would you hope to have?

2. Imagine you are adapting Cussy’s story for a film. Which character’s perspective, other than Cussy’s, would you be most interested in exploring further? For example, what might a scene look like from Waldeen’s, Mrs. Claxton’s, or even Warden Sanders’s point of view?

3. The novel ends with the Supreme Court’s Loving v. Virginia ruling that makes it possible for Cussy and Jackson to go home. If you were to write an epilogue set five years later, what would daily life look like for Cussy, Jackson, Honey, and Elijah Jack in Troublesome Creek?