Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for Where You End by Abbott Kahler

Book Club Discussion Questions

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Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Do you know any twins? If so, are they identical or fraternal? Do they share a secret language or have an eerie connection in some way?
2. How were Kat and Jude similar? How were they different? Do you think their personalities complemented each other?
3. What would you have done in Jude's position? Would you have told Kat the truth right away, or would you have invented a fanciful new history?
4. How do you think growing up in The Plan shaped Kat's and Jude's personalities? How did the lessons learned in The Plan follow the twins into adulthood? Would they have been capable of committing murder if not for The Plan?
5. The Plan was inspired by a few different cults and self-help movements that were popular in the 1970s (one inspiration, the Landmark Forum, is still active today). Have you ever taken any self-help courses or seminars? If so, was it a positive or negative experience? Did it change your way of thinking?
6. The types of photographs taken of Kat, Jude, and the other children were perfectly legal in the early 1970s. Does this fact surprise you? Does it influence your opinion of Bash/Richard and the others involved in producing these photographs?
7. Were Kat and Jude justified in committing murder? Does trauma ever justify violence? If you were in the twins' predicament, would you have sought revenge? If so, how?
8. What do you think happened between Kat and Richard at the end? Who pulled the trigger?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Henry Holt and Company. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.