This reading group guide for The Favorite Sister includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author Jessica Knoll. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book. Introduction From the New York Times bestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive comes a blisteringly paced novel centered around Goal Diggers , a reality TV series featuring hyper-successful women in New York City. When Kelly, the older sister of fan favorite Brett, joins the cast, the producers expect drama. What they never expect is that the season will end in Brett''s murder or that each of the cast members has a plausible reason for wanting her dead. So . who did it? The Favorite Sister follows an unforgettable cast of women, all with secrets to hide, all with one thing in common: unbridled ambition in a world that forces women to make shrewd calculations for professional-and personal-gains.
In a story that shocks and upends expectations, Jessica Knoll offers a scathing take on the oft-lionized bonds of sisterhood, and the realities of a culture that pits woman against woman, sister against sister. Topics & Questions for Discussion 1. Discuss the title of the novel. Who do you think the "favorite sister" in the title is? Explain your answer. Did you prefer one sister to the other? Which one and why? 2. Brett notes, "It is a dangerous thing to conflate feminism with liking all women" (p. 18). Explain her statement.
How do you think Brett would define feminism? Would you consider any of the Goal Diggers feminists? What do you think is the message of the show? 3. Discuss the structure of The Favorite Sister . What''s the effect of having a distorted time line? Throughout the novel, both Brett and Stephanie share details of how the producers of Goal Diggers use various tricks to enhance the feeling of suspense and drama during the season. What types of methods do they use? Does Knoll use similar tricks in her writing? Describe them. 4. Early in the novel, when discussing Brett, Kelly says, "Don''t get me wrong--I loved my sister, but I saw her too" (p. 3). Were you surprised by her statement? Do you think many of people in the novel "saw" Brett as Kelly did? Did your opinion of Brett change throughout the course of The Favorite Sister ? 5.
Did you find all of the narrators in The Favorite Sister reliable? Which ones did you trust? When and why do the Goal Diggers cast members lie? How does it help them to survive both on the show and offscreen? 6. Brett says, "Being right is a hell of a drug" (p. 276). Explain her statement. What prompts Brett to declare that she is "right"? At various points during the novel, several of the Goal Diggers cast members thinks they are "right" and feel they have the moral high ground. Give some examples. Do you think that the season of righteous indignation that the women have is justified? Does it lead them to make any bad choices? Which ones and why? 7. Describe Brett''s proposal to Arch.
Did you think, like Kelly, that "A proposal like that sounds more like a business proposition" (p. 288)? Knowing what you do about the relationship, how might Brett view this assessment as a threat? What did you think of Brett''s relationship with Arch? Did you think that they complemented each other as a couple? 8. When Brett is interviewed prior to the start of the most recent season of Goal Diggers , Erin, her interviewer, asks what role Brett thinks she plays in the group dynamics of the show, saying "I guess I just mean everyone has their role, right?" (p. 18). Why do you think Brett is reluctant to answer the question? When Brett does answer, she says she''s "kind of the underdog" (p. 19) and, later in the novel, describes herself as "the Greek Chorus" (p. 30). Do you think that her self-assessments are accurate? Why or why not? What role do you think Brett occupies? If you were in a reality show, what role do you think you would take on? 9.
Stephanie says that she can see the other cast members of Goal Diggers "are damaged in some way. We must be. Why else would anybody sign up to be tossed out?" (p. 161). Why do you think that people choose to appear on reality shows? Would you? What reasons do Stephanie and the other cast members have for appearing on the show? 10. When reflecting upon her friendship with Yvette, Brett says, "It''s a complicated dance, to be friends with the mother of a woman neither of us likes very much" (p. 90). Describe Brett''s friendship with Yvette, comparing it with Brett''s relationship with her own mother.
What do each of the women gain from their friendship? How does Brett try to navigate their mutual dislike of Jen? What reasons do Brett and Yvette have for disliking Jen? What did you think of Jen? 11. Stephanie describes Brett as "approachable," and says, "It''s part of what the audience loved about Brett, part of what I loved about her, at least in the beginning" (p. 39). Did you find Brett approachable? Describe the dynamics of her friendship with Stephanie. What did each woman like about the other? Were you surprised to learn what led to the end of their friendship? Why is each woman so unwilling to share the true story behind their fight? 12. Yvette tells Brett "Nearly all women can stand adversity, but if you want to test someone''s character, give her power" (p. 93). Describe how each of the women on Goal Diggers reacts when they are in positions of power.
Do they all use their power and influence wisely? Did you find any of their behaviors surprising? If so, which ones and why? 13. Several of the women in the cast of Goal Diggers have nicknames assigned to them by the show''s audience. Do you think that Brett''s nickname, the Big Chill , suits her? If not, what would you use instead? Discuss the nicknames that the other women have been given. What are the nicknames? What are they meant to convey about each cast member? 14. When discussing her marriage, Stephanie proclaims, "I am not a cheater. I am an outsourcer" (p. 207). Explain her statement.
Is there a difference? Do you think Vince would agree? Describe their marriage. Did you think that Vince and Stephanie were a healthy couple? 15. Describe Layla. Were you surprised that Kelly allowed her to be in the Goal Diggers cast? Kelly says, "Kids should be disciplined, but they should never be unloved" (p. 136). Can you think of examples where Kelly enacts this philosophy? What did you think of Kelly''s methods for raising Layla? How is Kelly influenced by her own upbringing? Enhance Your Book Club 1. While they are close friends, Brett and Stephanie plot their own "Lauren and Heidi feud" (p. 172).
Watch the infamous "You Know What You Did" episode of The Hills with your book club. Did it pique your curiosity about what ended Lauren and Heidi''s friendship when you watched it? Compare Lauren and Heidi''s feud to Brett and Stephanie''s. How did the former inspire Brett and Stephanie? 2. When Brett stays at Stephanie''s apartment, Stephanie introduces her to the concept of "the Jesus year," which she says is "the year you realize it''s now or never. You cash in your 401(k) to open an ice-cream shop in Costa Rica" (p. 168). What do you think of the concept? If you were to take a "Jesus year" what would you do? Share your ideas with your book club. 3.
On the way to Morocco, Brett encourages Layla to watch Election , telling her, "It''s about female ambition, and the lengths people will go to extinguish it" (p. 219). Watch Election and discuss it with your book club. Do you see any parallels between the events in Election and Goal Diggers ? Does Tracy Flick remind you of any of the cast members? Who and why? 4. To learn more about Jessica Knoll, read reviews and find out when she will be in a city near you. Visit her official site at www.jessicaknoll.com.
A Conversation with Jessica Knoll Congratulations on the publication of The Favorite Sister ! Your first novel, Luckiest Girl Alive , was a critically acclaimed instant New York Times bestseller. How did the experience of writing The Favorite Sister compare? Since your first book was critically and commercially successful, did you feel added pressure while writing this one? If so, how did you deal with it? There was not just more pressure this time around, but life was busier. I wrote Luckiest Girl Alive while I had a full-time job as a magazine editor, and even though it was a lot to juggle, it felt much more manageable than writing The Favorite Sister . Over the last three years, I have written three screenplays for major studios, moved across the country, and addressed the long-buried trauma that inspired Luckiest Girl Alive . My emotional and creative energy were well below base, but I was also determined to write a knockout second book. I believe I accomplished that, but it was not easy and it was not pretty. The Favorite Sister is told from multiple points of view. Why did you choose to structure the story in that way? Was it difficult to switch between the voices of the characters as you were writing? Which sections were your favorite to write? Why? I wanted to tell the story from multiple points of view because I think in.