READERS GUIDE

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. Esmie poses as a cleaner to gain access to The Woodlands. Why do you think the families she worked for were inclined to trust her from the beginning? What underlying assumptions or social dynamics might have influenced their willingness to do so?

2. Early in their relationship, Amber dismissively calls Esmie “nice,” implying that it is a negative trait. Do you think being called “nice” is an insult? How does Esmie weaponize her “niceness”?

3. Esmie watches from the shadows, invisible and unseen, until she doesn’t. Does crossing the line from observer to active participant change the direction of the story? What other lines are crossed in the book, and to what effect?

4. Esmie’s connection to the natural world outside her employers’ homes becomes increasingly profound as the story unfolds. How does Esmie’s relationship with nature mirror her dynamic with her employers?

5. Linc tells Esmie a folktale called “The Sweetheart in the Wood,” along with an alternate ending written by Eden Hale. Which ending did you like best? Why do you think Esmie prefers Hale’s alternate ending?

6. In another excerpt from Hale’s work, Esmie reads about entrapment—specifically, the idea that “the very shape of ourselves is another cage.” Which of the characters in The Cleaner are trapped, and in what way?

7. Nico once said that within every couple there is a lover and a beloved. Who do you think Nico saw as the lover and the beloved within his relationships, both back home and at The Woodlands?

8. Toward the end of the novel, Esmie thinks about how everyone she has met in The Woodlands wants something so badly they would do almost anything to get it. What does Esmie want above all else: justice for Nico or punishment for her rival?