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A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl
A girl takes on a series of identities to survive, shrouding herself in layers of secrets, until years later when she is forced to reckon with her past.
On an ordinary day in an upscale Atlanta suburb, Maya is making breakfast for her two sons, when her husband drops a red-and-blue striped envelope on the counter and asks a devastating question: Who is Sunny?
Maya is sent reeling back to her childhood in Guyana—a time when Sunny was her only name. Unbeknownst to her husband, Maya is not who she claims to be. The letter, from her long-lost sister Roshi, now threatens to expose her true identity and shatter the seemingly perfect existence Maya worked so hard to build.
As she frantically weighs the impact of the truth on her future, Maya relives the details of her childhood journey to America from Guyana–and the traumatic events that forced her to leave her past behind. Through the eyes of Maya’s innocent and scared younger self, we discover the power of hope, empathy, and the possibility of beginning again.
These discussion questions were provided by the publisher, Zibby Media.
Book club questions for A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl by Nanda Reddy
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
This novel’s scope encompasses many themes: coming-of-age, immigration, and survival, to name a few. In your view, what is the most important one? And why?
The novel is uniquely structured in parts that coincide with shifts in the protagonist’s identity. How did this structure influence your understanding of the formation of identity as a journey and, to some extent, an individual choice? Did the structure and different names the protagonist uses emphasize transitional chapters in your own life or times when you had to embrace change?
Maya worries that Dwayne will no longer love her if she reveals the truth about her identity. How did the backstory Maya created for herself affect who she was in her marriage?
As depicted in the book, code-switching is part of the assimilation process. Based on the dramatic range of Sunny’s experiences, how much do you think code-switching is a natural part of everyday life versus a social requirement, given current
cultural standards?
The protagonist tattoos the words “Begin Again” on her ankle—those words become her mantra. What does Begin Again mean to you?
Compare and contrast the United States that Sunny envisions at the start of the novel while still in Guyana to her experiences once she arrives. How do the realities she encounters growing up in the United States differ from the sparkling vision of the country she had as a child? How does her vision of Guyana change over time?
There are a lot of characters throughout the novel who help our protagonist along her journey— specifically Lila, Yvonne, and Janna. How are these women similar? How are they different? Is there anyone else in the novel you might describe as a helper?
The protagonist goes through a great deal of trauma throughout her adolescence—from a sense of abandonment and a massive amount of pressure from her family’s expectations, to physical and sexual abuse at the hands of Prem. How did these traumas impact her self-image?
The protagonist consistently mourns and thinks about her connection to her sister, Roshi, as she grows older. This connection becomes physical when it is revealed that they each might carry a cancerous gene. What does this physical bond represent in a novel that constantly emphasizes reinvention and stripping oneself of previously held identities?
What do you imagine Maya’s experience is of returning to Guyana with her new family and reconnecting with her old family?
A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl Book Club Questions PDF
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