This month’s FYA Book Club selection is Beholder by Ryan La Sala. Things will get a little trippy and a little freaky, but the book is well worth the read as there is LOTS to discuss! For my scaredy-cats out there, I don’t think is TOO scary (it’s more psychological than anything)…unless you’re deathly afraid of spiders (I survived!).
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
Some violence, parental loss, suicide ideation
Icebreaker
If you had to, which room in your house would you wallpaper?
Questions
1. What did you think of Athan as a character? Did your opinion of him change as you learned more about his family’s background and his powers?
2. What do you think were the main themes of the novel?
3. Did you guess Yiayia had an ulterior motive when she whispered into her hand mirror constantly? What did you think of her role in the Athan’s story?
4. Were you suspicious of Uhler from the start, or did he surprise you like he did Athan? What did you think of him as our main villain (in this plane of existence)?
5. Did you “get” the magic system of the book? What did you like or not like about it?
6. What did you think of Dom’s story, as the unwilling “artist” and his tragic ending that Athan did not want framed as a “noble sacrifice”? Did it make narrative sense to you? And what do you make about that last scene in the club??
7. The Vatican actually keeps occult artifacts in a locked vault deep underground because they believe there are things, like a real obsidian mirror, that can bring about the end of the world. Do you believe objects can contain negative or positive energy?
