READERS GUIDE

In order to provide reading groups with the most informed and thought-provoking questions possible, it is sometimes necessary to reveal certain aspects of the storyline. If you have not finished reading, you may want to do so before reviewing this guide.

1. What “big little truths” do you think the title refers to? What distinguishes a “big little truth” from a “big little lie”? 

2. The women of Big Little Truths feel bonded by the events of ten years prior. Are you surprised that they’ve stayed close? Do you think they’d be friends if not for Perry’s death? 

3. Do the teenagers in the book remind you of their parents? What have they inherited from the previous generation? In what ways are they forging new paths? 

4. How do the men and women in the novel experience aging differently? Are the differences real or perceived? 
5. Jane thinks it’s remarkable that Renata has “only one voice in her head”—she doesn’t talk to herself. Do you hold conversations with yourself in your mind? What does this distinction reveal about Renata’s and Jane’s characters? 
6. Now that she’s a parent herself, Jane finds herself replaying memories from her teen years but thinking about them from her adult perspective. Looking back on your own formative years, has your perspective changed? 
7. Renata and Celeste are both single and dating in their middle age. What challenges do they face? How do they approach dating differently? 
8. The parents have kept many details about their pasts from their children. How much honesty and openness do parents owe their kids? Do you think Celeste, Jane, and Bonnie should have shared the truth about Perry with their kids earlier? Is there a “right time” to share something like that? 
9. History teacher Melody Montclair is new in town and immediately sets about befriending her students’ moms, though Renata is skeptical. Why do you think the women are drawn to Melody? Why does Renata resist? 
10. All of the generations in Big Little Truths—kids, parents, grandparents—are carefully observing one another. Do they see one another clearly? What do they miss? What do they notice that the other side can’t? 
11. Celeste observes that the group dynamic between herself, Madeline, Jane, and Renata is “just like high school but with better manners and more subtext.” How are the teenage and adult friendships in the book similar? Has anything really changed since high school? 
12. How is the issue of consent explored in the novel? Do the teenagers have different ideas about consent from their parents? Have your own views about consent changed in the past decade? Chloe says, “I consented.” Do you think she will feel differently about this when she becomes an adult? Or perhaps has children of her own? 
13. Do you believe Melody has any redeeming features, or is she, as Renata says, a “sex trafficker,” consciously and maliciously grooming both the parents and students? Do you believe Melody’s actions are worse than those of her husband? If so, do you believe it’s because we hold women to a higher standard? Do you think the author was inspired by any real-life cases? 
14. Mary-Louise sees Bonnie’s lack of apology as “the absolute pinnacle of bad manners.” Do you think she deserved an apology? Could Melody’s actions ever be forgiven? Which other characters in the novel needed to give or receive forgiveness? 
15. Did you understand or relate to Jane’s feelings regarding having more children? Do you think she might eventually give Tom a baby? 
16. Have you seen the HBO adaptation of Big Little Lies? If so, did it have any impact on the way you read the book? 

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