Book Club Questions for Big Little Truths by Liane Moriarty

As I mentioned in my review, I felt it was a tough task for Liane Moriarty to write a sequel to her first novel, while also considering the HBO series too. As readers know, the HBO series made quite a bit of changes: Australia to California, Madeline’s affair, and even what happens after Celeste’s husband dies.

Plus, Laura Dern as Renata and Meryl Streep as Celeste’s mother-in-law were both so influential that Liane said she had to write them into this story. I personally am glad she was also influenced by the show. With how memorable it was, it would have been hard to ignore it, so instead, she chose to embrace both.

Story Thoughts

This is where I get into spoilers. If you haven’t read the novel yet, bookmark this and come back after you finish.

Whew, this novel took an unexpected turn for sure! It starts off with the high school principal receiving a finger in the mail.

There’s also an older man who keeps getting close to the high school students, promptly freaking out the teenagers and their parents.

Beyond that, Madeline’s husband, Ed, is diagnosed with cancer; Celeste is navigating her mother-in-law, who seems to have memory loss; Jane is feeling restless in her life and wondering what she missed out on by having a baby at 19. Bonnie has never fully recovered from pushing Celeste’s husband, Perry, to death.

And Renata is Renata, but she’s dealing with some stuff too. This is all on top of dealing with complicated teenager dynamics too.

I felt each character got their moment to shine, and I was pretty interested in how these storylines would wrap up. And I feel Liane Moriarty did a great job with that.

The Dynamics

Perry, certainly, holds a dark shadow over all the characters. From Celeste not trusting men to the impact of his actions on his sons, you can tell they are a little worried that one of them will turn out like their dad.

But even Madeline has that, being distrustful of her daughter Abigail’s fiancé, who turns out to be a generally nice guy.

Melody and her husband Seth’s storyline was not what I anticipated, and that was quite a shock, with Melody serving as a sex trafficker of underage girls to keep Seth happy. That was extremely shocking, to say the least. But I thought how the teenagers handled it in the documentary was really interesting. It wasn’t the parents who figured it out, but their kids, as Melody love-bombed all the parents too.

On another note, Madeline is hilarious throughout the story, and her daughter’s wedding prep throwing her for a loop was pretty entertaining. It will be interesting to see her as a grandmother if Liane writes sequels or incorporates that into the series.

I liked how Celeste was finally able to move forward from the shadow of Perry with her new relationship with Marco, who turned out to be a nice guy after all. Jane was a little question mark for me. I wonder if spending time in Europe away from her mother/wife duties will truly help in the end.

All in all, I really enjoyed this story, and it’s definitely one of my favorites of the year. Let me know what you think about the book in the comments section below!

Read the reviewReview: Big Little Truths by Liane MoriartyBy Heather Caliendo

Book Club Questions for Big Little Truths

1. Did you read Big Little Lies and/or have you seen the show? Why do you feel this story is so popular?
2. Did the sequel live up to the expectations?
3. In what ways did the show influence the sequel? If you’ve seen the show, did you imagine the actresses as the characters as you read it, or were you able to separate the two?
4. We meet the characters 10 years later, and now all the kids are teenagers. Gone are the playdates, and now there are big teenage issues. Most of the women are in their 50s and navigating health challenges, aging parents, and more. What were your thoughts about this snapshot of their life with all these different aspects going on?
5. If you read the first novel, what did you think about how the kids turned out as teenagers? Did any of them surprise you?
6. Did you feel the main characters grew from the first novel, or were they somewhat the same?
7. These women are all very different, yet they are extremely close. What is your impression of their bond? What connects them to this day?
8. The teenagers have an idea of what happened that fateful night when Bonnie pushed Perry to his death. But the truth really starts to come to light, and it impacts the kids in different ways. Each is struggling to overcome intergenerational trauma. In what ways did this show how the decisions of parents can impact their children too?
9. The story starts with the school being sent a severed finger that points to the name of the new teacher, Melody. Did you wonder if the finger was someone from the shared group’s past?
10. What did you think about Melody? Did you sense there was something more sinister going on with her?
11. Celeste meets single dad Marco, who seems great, but then finds out he’s the guy who’s been hanging around the school, freaking out the teenagers. What was your initial impression of Marco?
12. Madeline’s beloved husband Ed is going through aggressive cancer treatments. She’s also dealing with her aging mother and her daughter’s upcoming wedding. While Madeline definitely holds her family together, there seems to be a lot of unsaid resentment from Ed, and even Abigail too. What does this say about Madeline’s character? Will she learn to let go of control, or will it go more into overdrive as she becomes a grandmother? Is Madeline a sympathetic character, or does she create her own problems?
13. Celeste is still haunted by the ghost of Perry but is trying to move forward. She mentions quite a bit that she might have been too lenient on her kids, and she’s also the one there for her mother-in-law despite what Perry did. What were your thoughts on Celeste overall? Do you feel she grew throughout the story?
14. Jane is feeling stuck. While she loves her husband Tom and her son Ziggy, she can’t help but feel she missed out a lot with having Ziggy so young. She also has trauma from Perry’s assault and Ziggy’s birth. As a result, she does not want to have another child. When Tom encourages her to travel and live freely for a while, Jane has a quick thought that she might be ready to have another child after that. What will Jane be like after her travels? Will Tom and she stay together if they don’t have another child?
15. Bonnie is traumatized from pushing Perry to his death, an act of defending Celeste, but it was also repressed anger about what her father did to her mother. Do you feel Bonnie will eventually be able to move forward from that night?
16. The Mary-Louise of this book is very different from the series. What did you think about the novel version of her?
17. The big reveal of this story is that Melody and her husband are sex trafficking underage high school girls. What were your thoughts about this reveal? Did you see it coming, or were you surprised?
18. Madeline’s daughter Chloe eventually confessed to her mom that she did have a sexual encounter with Melody’s husband, Seth. Let’s talk about this reveal and how it will impact both going forward.
19. Melody and her husband go on the run, but Mary-Louise accidentally runs them off the road. What did you think about that scene? Especially with Mary-Louise saying she’s only looking forward? Will Melody and Seth be found guilty of their crimes?
20. What happens next for Madeline, Jane, Celeste, Bonnie, and Renata?
21. While the book and the series are different, what aspects of this sequel do you hope appear in the third season?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed the book club questions for Big Little Truths! Here are some more recommendations along with links to book club questions.

I found Here One Moment to be a great book club pick. There is so much to discuss and analyze, and even debate with this one. So right away, I can tell you that your book club should add this to the list.

Read my spoiler-free review and my book club questions.

I loved the concept of getting together with your friends from different eras of life. A lot of women can relate to friendships evolving as we all get older. See my full review here.

And my book club questions here.

Happy reading!