This month’s FYA Book Club selection is Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson. 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!
Content Warning
This book contains death, mentions of suicide and sexual assault.
Icebreaker
Witchcraft is commonly used in pop culture as a metaphor for women taking control of a world in which they have little power. What did you do to reclaim your power as a teen? Did you join protests, start a band, let it all out in your online Livejournal or something else?
Questions
1. Mila is pretty clear about not dancing around the fact that she’s fat. How did you feel about her disdain for other terminology? Did you feel like she was empowered or defensive, and why? Do you think she’d begrudge other people if they wanted to use those terms for themselves?
2. The plot is driven by the mystery of what really happened to Riley, June and Dayton, because Mila is positive Riley was a victim of foul play. Did the story keep you guessing or did you have an idea who did it? Were you as certain as Mila was regarding Riley’s fate?
3. Mila will move heaven and earth–literally–to bring her best friend back from the dead. Did you think that was a morally sound decision?
4. Riley’s parents, the Greenways, are morticians–an unusual profession for YA parents. How did you feel about that–did it help or distract from the story? How did it impact the exploration of grief?
5. How did you feel about June and Dayton’s character growth? Was it realistic? Did you end up feeling the same way about them by the end of the book?
6. Mila’s parents are distant figures in the story, presumably because they don’t know how to handle Mila’s grief. Did this feel realistic to you or more like the classic “absentee parents” YA trope?
7. Mila is Mexican-American–did you feel that this informed her character’s identity? Why or why not?
8. Bonus question: Will you ever look at mushrooms the same way again?
