This month’s FYA Book Club selection is Internment by Samira Ahmed. 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
Internment contains violence against BIPOC/Muslim people as well as the Trump administration in general.
Icebreaker
Poetry is woven throughout the book. Have you ever found a poem that resonated with your life at just the right time?
Questions
1. What was it like to read this after the election furor and getting through a global pandemic? Do you feel the tone was accurate for living through the last 5 historical years?
2. Layla’s parents often want her to keep her head down so she stays safer and doesn’t draw attention to herself. How did you feel about that desire? Who did you empathize with more?
3. “We accept the lies we tell each other and ourselves, I suppose. It’s one of the ways we are surviving the day-to-day without going mad.” Did you feel Layla told herself lies to get through the days, or was she honest with herself about the realities of the situation?
4. How did you feel about Jake’s character? He’s serving in an unethical regime but is portrayed as a good guy trying to help. Was it effective, or did you feel he could have or should have done more?
5. At one point Jane Austen’s Persuasion is mentioned as a subversive text for the time. Do you feel like this book is subversive, or is its message too open? What would you classify as subversive today?
