1. Why does Max feel unable to speak out against Jacob at the start of the novel? Is his silence comparable to Izzy’s?
2. On page 94, Izzy describes a moment of realisation: ‘I guess that’s when I first realised how small our lives are… how people rarely look beyond their horizon.’ (p.94) Do you think this realisation is important to the rest of the narrative? Is Izzy also guilty of not being able to see beyond her horizon?
3. Do Steph and Grace have some culpability in Izzy’s unhappiness? What does the novel teach us about what it means to be a good person?
4. Silence is one of the novel’s major themes. Is there a relationship between silence and shame?
5. When Izzy’s mum Steph went back to Daniel the first time, Izzy lost her sense of safety. Do you agree with Izzy that: ‘It’s like riding a bike, I guess, that ability to feel safe again: all you need is the vehicle and your body remembers the rest.’? (p. 106) Do you think she feels safe again by the end of the novel?
6. Jacob and Daniel both inflict physical harm on Izzy and Steph. Must violence be overt to cause harm? What do you understand by the word coercion?
7. To what extent does love play a role in the book?
8. There is a gap between what Izzy feels and what she does. Why do you think this is? Is there always a conflict between our thoughts and our actions?
9. ‘I hadn’t known she was in me, that girl who won’t stand for it, that girl who won’t sit quietly on the sidelines while those boys flaunt their god-given ‘right’ to say and do what they want with our bodies. Where’s she been all these years?’ (p.149) Why does Izzy decide now that she will no longer be silenced? Do you think this is the first time she realises she has been mistreated?
10. In light of Izzy’s story, what do you understand by consent? Should consent be taught in schools?