READERS GUIDE

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. Sunburn depicts the excitement of first love alongside the trials of coming of age as a queer person in a very specific setting. Do you think that Lucy and Susannah’s relationship would have unfolded differently in another place?
2. How is Lucy’s sense of self affected by her environment, in Crossmore and then in Dublin?
3. To what extent is the dynamic between Lucy and Martin complicated by social expectations? 
4. The novel deals with complex and seemingly unhealthy mother-daughter relationships. Discuss this, and consider the impact of these relationships on Lucy and Susannah, and their relationship.
5. To what point is Lucy her own obstacle? Do you think she can or should be judged for struggling to choose between her relationship with Susannah and the stability of her teenage life in Crossmore?
6. Discuss the portrayal of teenage female friendship in the novel.
7. How does this depiction of growing up queer in a small Irish town in the 90s compare with other imaginings of 90s queerness in literature?
8. Lucy maintains that she loves Crossmore throughout the novel, despite her complex personal experience there. Why do you think this is?
9. What’s next for Lucy and Susannah? Do you think their love is sustainable or do they – especially Lucy – view each other through the rose-tinted lenses of first love?