Some questions to talk about after you read Hallie Ephron’s “Never Tell a Lie”
1. One of the things I wanted to explore was whether any of us ever outgrow (or outrun) the person we were in high school. There were the popular kids, the jocks, the loners, and so on. Ivy, David, Theo, and Melinda — each in their way is a stand-in for a different strata. Do you think they still carry the stars and scars from their high school experiences, or have they moved past their pasts?
2. Which character did you relate to the most strongly?
3. For you, who is the villain in this story, and why?
4. The setting for this book is really the house itself — have you been in a house like that, and how did it affect the story for you?
5. Did parts of the book make you uncomfortable? Can you put your finger on why, and whether that discomfort yielded any insights?
6. What do you think really happened in the bowing alley?
7. Do you think Ivy forgives David in the end? Do you think she should?
8. How do you think they move forward?