Natasha Friend
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January 11, 2005 |
Mother-Daughter Book Guide
This guide to discussion is based in part on questions expressed by readers in visits with the author.
- In Chapter 2, Isabelle is furious with her mother for making her attend Group, but she still stands at the curb waiting for her mother to wave goodbye so that she can wave back [page 9]. Why? What does this exchange reveal about Isabelle and her mother's relationship?
- After Isabelle's first Group session, her mother tries to talk to her about the issue of weight [pages 23-24]. How effective is this conversation? How might Isabelle's mother have approached the subject differently?
- How do your own attitudes about food, weight, and weight-control effect your relationship as mother and daughter? Do you discuss the subject openly? Why or why not?
- The Lee family has suffered the traumatic loss of Isabelle and April's father. How does each family member cope with her grief? How do those separate coping mechanisms help or hinder their relationships with one another?
- At one point Isabelle speculates that new-girl Paula would like nothing more than to sit at the center table in the lunchroom. Isabelle thinks to herself, Lotsa luck, toots [page 33]. Why is a seat at the center table such an unattainable goal? How is Isabelle eventually able to join the "inner circle"? How does the experience of sitting with Ashley's friends affect Isabelle?
- What role does Aunt Weezy play in Isabelle's recovery process? What role does Trish play?
Daughters: Are you at ease talking with your mother about any subject? Are there adult(s) in your life you would feel more comfortable approaching if you had a concern or problem?
Mothers: how do you seek to open the lines of communication with your daughter so that she feels comfortable approaching you?
- What do you think about the peripheral characters in the story: Ashley's friends at the center table; Brian King; Isabelle's friends, Nola and Georgie, the other girls in Group? If you could learn more about any one of them, who would it be?
- On page one of the book Isabelle refers to her sister Ape Face as "evil." How and why do you think Isabelle's attitude toward April evolves in the course of the story? Can any of you recognize yourself in the sibling role of either April or Isabelle? In what way?
- Do you think Isabelle and Ashley would have become friends without Group? Why or why not? What do you see in the future of their friendship?
- Why is Perfect a good book for mothers and daughters to read together? In what ways has your relationship been affected by the experience of reading the book?