Book Club Questions for The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

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Book club questions for The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez covers the complicated relationship between Kristen and Peter, her illness and much more. There will be spoilers so be sure to check out my review first.

Kristen Peterson doesn’t do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don’t get her. She’s also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.

Planning her best friend’s wedding is bittersweet for Kristen — especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He’s funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he’d be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it’s harder and harder to keep him at arm’s length.
The Friend Zone will have you laughing one moment and grabbing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.

Book Club Questions for The Friend Zone

• What did you think about the first interaction between Josh and Kristen?
• This story starts off in traditional rom-com style but everything changes when Kristen tells Sloan about her medical condition.  Why do you think Kristen didn’t tell her earlier? Do you understand why she wants to have the surgery?
• Josh and Kristen fall for each other right away—even though Kristen’s still with Tyler. Let’s talk when they started to develop feelings.
• What did you think about Kristen’s relationship with Tyler? She talks about some of the reasons she’s with him but it all seems to boil down to that he doesn’t want kids. Do you think she would have settled if she stayed with him?
• Josh wants to have a big family, and unknowing of Kristen’s condition, he proudly talks about it. So Kristen believes they will never be together because of this and tries to push him away and then just be friends with benefits. Why do you think Kristen couldn’t tell him the truth to begin with? How do you think Josh would have reacted if he found out earlier?
• Kristen’s mother is quite cold and disapproving of her. We learn more about Kristen’s upbringing and how she was on track to become a lawyer before dropping out of law school. How did her mother’s disapproval shape some of Kristen’s behavior?
• Infertility is a topic that really isn’t discussed much. Let’s discuss why it was important to have a story about the struggles of it.
• Brandon, Sloan’s boyfriend and Josh’s best friend, tragically passes away in a car accident. The scenes are heartbreaking—were you surprised when it happened?
• The tragedy really forces Josh and Kristen to evaluate what’s important in life. And Peter does plenty of research on how they could still have kids, even after Kristen’s surgery. Kristen finally lets Josh in and they quickly get married. Let’s talk about this and how they finally came together.
• And it turns out, Kristen was able to get pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby. What did you think about the ending?
• If they made this book into a movie or TV series, who would you cast in the main roles?
• And in exciting news, the author Abby Jimenez is writing a sequel to The Friend Zone focusing on Sloan, called The Happily Ever After Playlist!

What to Read Next

If you enjoyed book club questions for The Friend Zone, here are some more recommendations, along with book club discussion questions.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren is a feel-good romantic comedy.

Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed. By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion . . . she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests. Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas.

Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there’s a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo.

Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bliss is worth having to assume the role of loving newlyweds, right? But the weird thing is . . . Olive doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be the luckiest woman alive, the more it feels like she might be.

Click here to order the book on Amazon. Check out my book club questions here.

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center is about courage and the power of forgiveness.

Cassie Hanwell was born for emergencies. As one of the only female firefighters in her Texas firehouse, she’s seen her fair share of them, and she’s a total pro at other people’s tragedies. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to give up her whole life and move to Boston, Cassie suddenly has an emergency of her own.

The tough, old-school Boston firehouse is as different from Cassie’s old job as it could possibly be. Hazing, a lack of funding, and poor facilities mean that the firemen aren’t exactly thrilled to have a “lady” on the crew—even one as competent and smart as Cassie. Except for the infatuation-inspiring rookie, who doesn’t seem to mind having Cassie around. But she can’t think about that. Because love is girly, and it’s not her thing. And don’t forget the advice her old captain gave her: Never date firefighters. Cassie can feel her resolve slipping…and it means risking it all—the only job she’s ever loved, and the hero she’s worked like hell to become.

You can order the book on Amazon here. Check out my book club questions here.

Happy reading!