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A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
From the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Days in June, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is an epic love story one hundred years in the making...
Leap years are a strange, enchanted time. And for some, even a single February can be life-changing.
Ricki Wilde has many talents, but being a Wilde isn't one of them. As the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, she's the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. Where they're long-stemmed roses, she's a dandelion: an adorable bloom that's actually a weed, born to float wherever the wind blows. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a different, more exciting life awaits her.
When regal nonagenarian, Ms. Della, invites her to rent the bottom floor of her Harlem brownstone, Ricki jumps at the chance for a fresh beginning. She leaves behind her family, wealth, and chaotic romantic decisions to realize her dream of opening a flower shop. And just beneath the surface of her new neighborhood, the music, stories and dazzling drama of the Harlem Renaissance still simmers.
One evening in February as the heady, curiously off-season scent of night-blooming jasmine fills the air, Ricki encounters a handsome, deeply mysterious stranger who knocks her world off balance in the most unexpected way.
Set against the backdrop of modern Harlem and Renaissance glamour, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a swoon-worthy love story of two passionate artists drawn to the magic, romance, and opportunity of New York, and whose lives are uniquely and irreversibly linked.
These book club questions are from the publisher, Hachette.
Book club questions for A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
Harlem creates a vibrant, exciting backdrop for this love story, a place for creatives and artists to find themselves and flourish Describe the ways in which Harlem has changed over time in the novel. Discuss how this neighborhood functions within the novel what role does it play beyond just a setting?
Ricki feels like an outsider in her family, never quite fitting in or meeting their expectations. In what ways does this dynamic challenge Ricki to achieve her goals, and how does it hold her back?
The power of love and relationships is a central theme throughout the novel, and we learn that both Ricki and Ezra have had tumultuous romantic, platonic, and familial relationships. How is their romance different from ones they’ve had in the past, and how does it change their other relationships?
Ms. Della is Ricki’s guardian angel from the moment they meet, providing her with the support and encouragement that Ricki’s been missing. How is her outlook on life different from Ricki’s? Who in your life has been a Ms. Della figure?
Ezra’s past is a long and painful journey that takes him from one heartbreak to the next. Describe the mechanisms he’s developed to cope with his grief. How does opening his heart to Ricki lead him on the path toward healing?
What does A Love Song for Ricki Wilde say about the power of love and vulnerability?
Ezra is preoccupied with the idea of legacy; and later, so is Ricki. How do they each leave their mark on the world? What does it say about what they value most?
Tuesday Rowe becomes Ricki’s closest friend. Though she’s fiercely confident in some ways, she’s wounded in others. How did her years as a child star impact her adult sense of self?
There are almost one hundred years between Breeze’s 1927 interview with Olive Randall and Ricki’s 2024 interview with Clementine Rhodes. But the two journalists similarly imply that Black culture is given value when it’s sanctioned by white people. How does Ricki push back on this idea? Discuss the ways you see his still happening in the world today.
Ricki and Ezra are described as the “two luckiest lovers in the world” (page 332). How would you describe their love story? Do you think their romance is entirely due to fate and destiny? Or, is it due to choices they made and personal growth?
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde Book Club Questions PDF
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