“Is there any felicity in the world superior to this?” I’m pretty sure Marianne Dashwood could have said this of discussing books in addition to chasing patches of blue sky in heavy downpours. I love a good list of discussion questions to ponder or ask of friends after reading an unputdownable book. If you do too, please enjoy these discussion questions for Turnabout Is Fairy Cosplay.
Discussion Questions
- If you could leave your current career to vibe like Bea did, what would you want to do? Do you feel there is a reason why movements like NEET in Japan are gaining popularity?
- A theme of this book is family legacy. What family legacies are important to you?
- Do you annotate your books? Why or why not?
- Enemies-to-lovers is one of Amy’s longstanding favorite tropes, probably because there is just something so fun about falling for the villains and bad boys (Rufus Sewell in A Knight’s Tale). Shakespeare made this easy, writing many charismatic, likable, intelligent and dastardly villains. Do you have a favorite villain? What qualities make them irresistible? (Also, Amy wants the movie where Rey takes Kylo Ren up on his offer in The Last Jedi.)
- If Molly McKinney were to do a (silly, non-occult) tarot reading for you that was obviously an excuse to dish out some unsolicited advice, what do you think she’d say? Would she be right?
- Is turnabout fair play?
- An ongoing theme of Amy’s books is identity. Who are we? Who are we allowed to be? Who are we to each other? How did cosplay help or hinder Bea’s understanding of her identity?
- Who was your favorite character?
- There were many (many!) references to Shakespeare throughout the book. In fact both the opening and closing lines directly reference Shakespeare. This story was inspired by Much Ado About Nothing, yet it is not a retelling. Why? Was this a missed opportunity? Was there too much or not enough Shakespeare in this story?
- Are we lovable as we are with all our prickles and spines, or do we need to soften some of our rough edges through life experience first?
- Should rom-coms make people laugh? Amy loved finding ways to mortify Bea and Mike throughout this book, and found lots of humor doing so. Yet, sometimes rom-coms are more about the lighthearted vibe and better defined as a story that has heart without taking itself too seriously. What do you think? Did any parts of this story make you lol?
- One of Amy’s reoccurring stress dreams is that her cat learns how to talk. Would you ever train your pet to use buttons? What reoccurring stress dreams do you have that would be worthy of rom-com plot points?
If you haven’t yet read Turnabout Is Fair Cosplay, you can do so now in paperback, eBook, or audiobook. And if you have read Turnabout Is Fair Cosplay, thank you! Please consider rating and/or reviewing.
Photo credit: Cactus collection worthy of even Beatrice Hero McKinney from the Denver Botanic Gardens taken by Amy.