This month’s FYA Book Club selection is The Reader by Traci Chee. 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

In the School Library Journal review of The Reader, Zeying Wang writes: “Chee provokes some resounding questions: What is there left to be remembered of us after death, and what must we do to be worthy of remembrance?” What is something seemingly insignificant you want people to remember about you? Like, maybe your talent for writing boy band fanfic or your uncanny knowledge of the best patios for drinking?

Questions

1. Traci Chee builds a very complex universe in the book while also jumping back and forth in time and space. Did you find her world-building to be layered in a rewarding way or complicated in a confusing way?

2. Sefia and Archer’s journey becomes intertwined with the adventures of Captain Reed and the crew of the Current of Faith. Were you equally invested in both storylines? Why or why not?

3. Given the fact that Sefia had a very sheltered and isolated childhood, do you think that explains the naïveté of her actions? 

4. Did you see the reveal of Lon and the Second as Sefia’s parents coming or not?

5. How do you think Traci Chee utilizes Sefia’s book to explore the idea of destiny? 

6. Do you find a culture in which a written language never developed believable? Why or why not?

7. Do you plan to read the next book in the series? If so, do you have any predictions for the rest of the series?

Sarah lives in Austin, and believes there is no such thing as a guilty pleasure, which is part of why she started FYA in 2009. Growing up, she thought she was a Mary Anne, but she's finally starting to accept the fact that she's actually a Kristy.