Book Club Discussion Questions

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Like many small towns, Lil and Sasha's hometown has steadily declined over their lifetimes. Their memories of their home, and the reality of its current state, are drastically different, yet both versions of the place are real to them. Do you have places, or even people, from your life who have undergone such transformations over time? How do the characters cope with this in different ways?
2. Lil is stubbornly loyal to her land and the covenant her mother passed on to her. How does this responsibility impact her life? Is her relationship to the orchard a gift or a burden?
3. After Sasha returns home from New York, she keeps very busy doing odd jobs around town. She runs the ferry, does survey work, picks up tasks at local businesses, and works on her photography—b ut she never helps with the orchard. Why do you think she stays so occupied? How do the twins approach work in different ways?
4. Though Theon initially appears as a rich man trying to buy land, he is slowly revealed to be a shape- changing monster, driven by his hunger to consume everything in his path. At what point in the book did you begin to suspect Theon was more than he initially appeared? What do you think he represents?
5. Jason is the old flame Lil never let go of, in part because her life has been brought to a standstill. Though he is real to her, the only Jason who appears in the book is his memory. Where do you think the real Jason is in the present? How is his haunting weaponized against Lil?
6. Autumn's friend Matt refers to the "Homecoming Effect," the pressures a person might feel to conform, blend in, or become an earlier version of themselves when they visit home. Have you ever felt this pressure? How does the Homecoming Effect impact Autumn and Sasha in the story?
7. The pecan children, like Wyn and Neel, are marginalized outsiders in the town, overlooked by the residents and easy victims to dark forces. How did the people of the town manage to ignore them for so long? Who in your community is most like the pecan children?
8. The Autumnal Interlude is an abrupt break from the world that Sasha and Lil know. It's also a coming-o f- age story for Autumn, who searches for her identity as both a queer woman and, eventually, a child of the pecan trees. What stood out to you about the many lives she leads? What do you think this interlude says about the journey we're all on to discover who we are?
9. Sasha and Autumn both often reflect on their last night hanging out in their tree house as teenagers. What happened that night, and how did it have a lasting impact on their relationship? What secrets have they kept from each other, and why?
10. Is there local folklore that you remember learning about when you grew up or that was passed down in your family? How do you think we're shaped by our homes and the stories we grew up hearing?
11. Lou, the oldest child of the pecan trees, has an interesting relationship to time. As a Black man in the South, he's lived through deeply painful history. Yet he owns a shop for old things and willingly goes through the time loop again and again to be with Russ. How would you cope with living forever? What do you think is next for Lou?
12. From Theon's fate to Lil and Sasha's final choices, every character ends in a different place from where they began. Did the characters' endings feel earned? What do you imagine happens to Lil, Sasha, Autumn, and Wyn after the epilogue? What feeling lingered with you at the end of the book?

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