For Book Clubs

Discussion Questions

1. 01

   How does the relationship between Pip and Sissy change over the course of the novel? What strains it, and what holds it together?

2. 02

   The orange grove is both a literal place and a symbol throughout the novel. What does it represent to each sister?

3. 03

   How does Brooks Whitney Phillips use the arrival of the carnival to shift the novel's momentum? What does the carnival represent beyond its surface meaning?

4. 04

   Race and class tensions run through the novel's background. How do Pip and Sissy understand—or fail to understand—the inequities around them?

5. 05

   The novel is set in an era of enormous social change, yet the characters experience that change at a distance. How does Phillips convey a world in transition?

6. 06

   First love is central to the story. How does the novel treat desire, vulnerability, and disappointment?

7. 07

   The title, The Grove, refers to the orange grove but also suggests something larger—a place, a community, a state of being. How do you interpret it?

8. 08

   The tagline is 'With love, you need the sour to savor the sweet.' How does this idea play out in the story?

9. 09

   How does Phillips balance the specificity of Old Florida with themes that feel universal?

10. 10

    What does the ending leave you with? What do you imagine for Pip and Sissy beyond the final page?