1. What were your initial impressions of Evie? How did they change by the end of the book?
2. The setting of Winter Island plays a large part in Creatures. What does this island represent to Evie and her life?
3. Creatures could be read as a parable about climate change; it’s full of extreme weather patterns. How does the metaphor of climate change play a role in Evie’s life?
4. Why do you think Evie compares her memories of her father to whales? Why do you think these sections are written in second person?
5. The novel explores the disparity of wealth on Winter Island, where mega-wealthy summer visitors live alongside the working-class residents. What do you think Creatures is saying about poverty? About the wealthy?
6. Evie is continually searching for a sense of home and belonging. How do you define “home” and “family”? Where have you felt the most at home? Do you feel that “home” must be only a physical place, or can it be psychological as well?
7. Creatures skips around in time and mimics the ebbs and flows of the tide. How did these shifts affect your reading?
8. How do you feel about Evie’s father? Could you forgive him? What about Evie’s mother?
9. Do you believe that Evie and Liam are a good match? Do you think they should have stayed married after the affair?
10. Evie and Rook have a complicated friendship. Do you think betrayals in friendships are meant to be forgiven? Should Evie have forgiven Rook?
11. What is the significance of the title? In what ways are people compared to animals, and why?
12. Evie and Liam are in an open relationship with very specific rules: They won’t tell each other about their indiscretions. Why do you think, ten years into their marriage, Evie decides she wants to change their arrangement and have a monogamous relationship?
13. Why do you think the father is unnamed in this novel?
14. Ultimately, Creatures is about betrayal and forgiveness. Do you believe forgiveness is always possible?