Please note: In order to provide reading groups with the most thought-provoking topics for conversation, this guide reveals some key plot points. If you haven’t yet finished HER, TOO and don’t wish to be spoiled, we recommend that you wait to read this guide until after you’ve finished the novel.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
- Kelly McCann began her law career as an assistant district attorney who specialized in prosecuting sex offenders. Now she defends people charged with similar crimes. What were her reasons for switching sides? What were her alternatives?
- In recent years, many high-profile men charged with sex crimes have engaged female attorneys to represent them at trial. What difference do you think the gender of defense counsel might make? If a woman lawyer knows that’s the main reason she’s been hired, should it influence her decision to take the case?
- Kelly’s step-daughter Courtney accuses her of being a gender-traitor and complicit in her clients’ crimes. Is this a fair accusation?
- Benedict’s other victims––the ones Kelly calls the NDA women––signed non-disclosure agreements in exchange for financial settlements. Each had her own reason for doing so. Discuss the differences in their motivations. Consider the consequences of their silence. Can they be considered complicit?
- Wives and partners of sex offenders often look the other way or rationalize their crimes. Some of them may even procure and groom the victims, e.g., Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Benedict’s wife goes even further. Discuss her motivations.
- Kelly is appalled to discover that her 14-year-old son apparently has been sexting with a teenaged girl. Do you think the boy’s behavior is the result of normal adolescent curiosity? Or does it evidence an attitude that a girl is merely a sex object? What can a mother do to raise a son who respects women?
- Kelly’s investigator Javier has spent his life as a self-described ladies’ man. Do you think his libidinous behavior is a form of sexual predation? Do you trust his declaration at the end of the novel that he’s changed his ways? If so, what do you think made him change? Love for his feminist wife or witnessing the behavior of Kelly’s clients? Or both? At the end of the novel, Kelly decides she can’t maintain silence any longer, even though it means sacrificing her career. Ashley makes the opposite decision. Is there a third way?
What would YOU do?
Want Bonnie to Zoom with Your Reading Group?
If your book club is reading HER, TOO, Bonnie would love to be available for questions or comments, by phone, video, or in person, if possible. Email her at bonniekistlerauthor@gmail.com.