This month’s FYA Book Club selection is If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo. Check out the discussion questions below! (Slight spoilers ahead.)
P.S. If you’ve already read the book, feel free to add any other discussion questions of your own in the comments!
Icebreaker
Amanda becomes fast friends with Layla, Chloe, and Anna. Did you ever (or do you still) belong to one of those friend groups that often shows up in pop culture?* What was your ‘role’?
*Like in Pretty Little Liars, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Sex and the City, etc.
Questions
1. In many ways, Amanda is a typical teen: she’s in several fandoms, she’s afraid people will hate her if they know the real her, she has a crush on another person at school, she worries how she’ll fit in with her friends, and she’s struggling to relate to her parents and survive in a place that she doesn’t necessarily love. Did you feel like Meredith Russo depicted the universal aspects of Amanda’s life as well as the not-so-universal ones?
2. Did you fall in love with Amanda and Grant? What made you swoon the most?
3. Amanda’s mom and dad have very different parenting styles. Would you give either (or both, or neither) a parenting award? Is — and should — their support of their daughter exceptional or expected?
4. Amanda’s friendships with Anna, Chloe, and Layla happen almost immediately, whereas she has a longer history with Virginia. Did this feel authentic to you? Were you happy with the way their friendships were portrayed?
5. Parts of Amanda’s identity often feel at odds with each other, like her being trans and also being religious and living in the South. What did you think of how these conflicts were portrayed?
6. Meredith Russo makes it very clear that Amanda’s story (or any trans person’s story) should not be regarded as the definitive trans experience. Do you think she succeeded? Does the book avoid veering into after-school special territory?
7. Amanda’s history unfolds primarily through flashbacks. Which one(s) stood out to you the most?
8. This book has plenty of fistpump-worthy moments. Which one was your favourite?
9. Let’s talk about Bee. Did you see her betrayal coming? How would you have reacted?
10. What do you hope happens after the book ends? What do you think happens? Are they the same thing?
