Come September

Ryan Jackson is a shy, scrappy teenager from a poor Appalachian town. Kip Reynolds is a talented high school polo player from a wealthy family living in the suburbs of Detroit. Sharp and stunning, Claudia Kinzler wins the admiration of both young men before her world is shattered by her father's death in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.

What follows is a sprawling, deeply human journey through grief and rage, addiction and healing, and the struggle to attain retribution for unfathomable acts of cruelty. Over the course of seventeen years-from the stables in Bloomfield Hills to the Appalachian Mountains, from corruption on the docks of Hong Kong to the underworld of South American drug cartels-Come September is the story of three people's journey to maturity, told through the lens of love, loss, and hardship, all tarnished by the long shadow of terror.

With unforgettable characters and emotionally charged storytelling, this novel explores what binds us and what breaks us, the power of strength and perseverance, and how truth and forgiveness can be the key to reconciling the pain of our past and building a new life.

These discussion questions were provided by the publisher, DartFrog Books.

Book club questions for Come September by Gil Merrick

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Did Hank show any respectable qualities at the beginning of the book?

What were your initial impressions of Ryan, Kip, and Claudia? Did a friendship between them seem improbable given their diverse backgrounds?

When you met Adam in Dr. Greene’s classroom, did you think he had any qualities that would eventually make him likable?

What did you predict would evolve between Kip and Adam? Did you think they would become friends?

What accounts for Ryan and Kip’s instant bond when they first met at the stables?

SEPTEMBER 11TH AS A CATALYST

How does 9/11 shape the trajectory of each main character?

Do you think their lives would have turned out similarly without that event?

RYAN’S JOURNEY

How did you respond to Ryan’s struggles with abuse, violence, and addiction?

Did you feel empathy for him? Why or why not?

How does Ryan’s love for dogs, horses, and music impact the trajectory of his life?

Why do you think Jenny was able to see the good in Ryan and fall in love with him so early in their relationship?

HANK’S JOURNEY

Did your feelings about Hank change throughout the story?

Did you believe Glenda when she told Jenny that Hank loved his children above all else?

Did you empathize with Hank’s struggles with anger and alcohol?

CLASS & PRIVILEGE

Kip and Claudia are both from wealthy families. Did their social status play any role in their attraction to each other?

What effect did coming from a wealthy family have on Kip’s goals in life?

KIP’S FRIENDSHIPS

How would you define the relationship between Kip and Ryan? What kept them connected despite Ryan’s downward spiral and his altercation with Kip at the bar?

Do you think Kip was right to maintain distance at times?

How did Adam’s relationship with Kip evolve over the years, and how did they finally accept each other as friends?

CLAUDIA’S ROLE

Claudia is central to both Kip and Ryan’s emotional journeys. How did Ryan’s realization that he and Claudia would never have a romantic relationship affect his friendship with Kip?

Should either Kip or Claudia have tried to turn their friendship into a romantic relationship earlier in the story? Why did each of them wait?

GLOBAL VS. LOCAL

The book moves between Appalachia, Michigan, Colombia, Asia, and the Middle East. How did this global scope impact your experience of the story?

JUSTICE AND RETRIBUTION

Adam, Kip, Claudia, and Ryan all grapple with the idea of retribution differently. How does each character define it?

Do you believe anyone in the story truly finds closure?

FINAL SCENE

What did you feel during Ryan’s musical performance at the end?

How does that moment tie back to the book’s central themes?

TITLE SIGNIFICANCE

What does Come September mean to you after finishing the novel?

Why do you think the author structured the story around the month of September over 17 years?

Come September Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the Come September discussion questions