READERS GUIDE
Reader’s GuideAxe and Grind by Taylor Hutton
Discussion Questions:
1. Tarot plays a subtle but persistent role in how Josie interprets her world. Why does Josie take comfort in defining her arc through fate? What does the book say about fate versus choice, especially through the lens of tarot?
2. She’s the One is marketed as a tech solution to connection—but what does the book suggest about authenticity and intimacy in digital spaces?
3. Axe and Strike come together through their book club. What does this unexpected analog space provide them that technology and
training can’t?
4. Josie often mistrusts her own instincts because she’s been shaped by a lifetime of medical gaslighting. How does that affect the way she approaches love, desire, and safety?
5. There’s a chilling thread in Josie’s plotline, in that she has been subjected to many adults weaponizing care. What does Axe and Grind suggest about how authority protects abusers?
6. What does MamaBearSharon’s online persona say about how digital platforms reward pain?
7. Who do you think is more emotionally guarded: Axe or Josie? What moments cracked each of them open?
8. Does haptic suit technology feel like progress, avoidance, or a little of both?
9. Axe builds dating tech. Josie reads tarot. Who would you trust more to find your soulmate?
10. Design the perfect tarot card for Axe and Josie.
