Always You is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
Anne loves Rick but was convinced by her family and friends to break up with him. Have you ever done something just because someone told you to do it? Did you regret it or was it good advice? How did it make you feel about the person who advised you?
Some forms of persuasion in the story are positive whereas others are negative. Do you prefer to receive advice, or do you prefer to make your own decisions? Does being persuaded make you more or less likely to do something?
When have you used your influence to persuade someone to act a certain way? What was the outcome?
For readers who have read the original source material
In both Persuasion and Always You, the heroine, Anne, suffers from having a ridiculous parent who overvalues his or her own station in the world. In the former, it is her father, and in the latter, it is her mother. Does the change in the gender of the parent change the tenor of this dynamic with Anne?
In Persuasion, Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth have been apart for nearly a decade, whereas in Always You, Anne and Rick have been separated only by a couple of years. Given modern communication, would a ten-year separation be realistic or even possible? Does the length of time make the separation any more or less romantic? How long would you realistically allow a friend to pine after a lost love?
In both Persuasion and Always You, Anne’s parent wants her to maintain her family’s standards, of social standing in the former and of world influence in the latter. Is either of these goals more honorable than the other? If so, why? Is it wrong to want the best for your children? Would you have found her family’s aspirations for Anne acceptable had they been poor and ambitious for more? If so, why is that different?