Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Discuss your overall impressions of Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire. What were your favorite and least favorite aspects of Verity Vox’s story, and why?

2. Compare Verity Vox to other YA fantasy novels. What narrative and thematic threads do you notice between Martin’s titles and titles like Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures (2024) or Darcie Little Badger’s A Snake Falls to Earth (2021)?

3. How did your experience reading Verity Vox compare to your experience reading other Martin titles, like while I wait to be a god again (2020) or The Playground (2013)? What overlaps do you notice between Martin’s prose and poetry?

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

1. How did you respond to the narrative revelation that Verity had given up some of her power to Earl? If you had been in the same situation, would you have given up your powers? What would you have done instead, and why?

2. The novel explores the importance of intention when it comes to wielding power. With Verity Vox and Earl’s conflict in mind, where do you see battles between good and evil happening in your own life? How does power in the hands of different people offer different results?

3. Consider the romantic relationship between Verity and Tacita Tarry. How does it reflect or diverge from your own youthful romantic experiences?

4. Foxfire is a secluded, insular community where Verity struggles to find acceptance. Have you ever lived in a place like Foxfire? How did you find belonging?

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

1. Verity Vox can be read as an allegory for coming of age as a queer person in a conservative environment. Explore how this metaphoric meaning functions, and the narrative’s relevance to contemporary issues of antigay bias or the LGBTQIA+ movement. Particularly consider Verity’s and Tacita’s experiences of Foxfire within this context.

2. Verity and Earl are symbols of good and evil. Explore how the way they wield their power creates a commentary on contemporary political systems.

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

1. The novel is written from the third-person point of view. Analyze this narrative vantage point and how it relates to the novel’s thematic explorations or overarching mood. How would the novel resonate differently if told from Verity’s first-person point of view?

2. Discuss the novel’s structure. How do the section and chapter divisions and titles function to offer clarity and meaning? How would Verity’s story differ if Martin had not abided by a linear structure?

3. Explore the roles of the secondary characters to Verity’s character arc. How do characters like Gilly, Tacita, and Mae usher Verity toward change? How would her journey differ without them?

4. Identify three symbols not mentioned in the guide and discuss their relevance to the narrative. For example, what might the leaf, the gramophone, or Green’s General Goods represent, and how do they advance the novel’s themes?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Imagine you are adapting Verity Vox into a feature film. Who would you cast in the leading roles? Which artists would you involve in the soundtrack? Which scenes would you add, alter, or omit to make the adaptation your own?

2. Imagine a continuation of Verity’s story. What do you think happens to Verity and Tacita after they leave Foxfire? Do they get the happy ending they want? What challenges do they face in their new relationship and new town? How does their history play into their new life?