Fruit Fly

What did you think of the alternating narration? How did the author create distinct voices for Mallory and Leo? How would the book change if it were told only from Mallory’s point of view, or only from Leo’s?

What did you think of the sections featuring Leo’s poetry? What impact did they have?

Why do you think Mallory is so particular about decorating her house just right?

Both main characters are flawed. Did you feel sympathy for either of them? Did your sympathies shift over the course of the book? Who is really exploiting whom?

Mallory and Leo both lie to themselves as much as to others. Do you think Mallory genuinely cared about Leo? Did she understand what she was doing to him deep down, or did she truly buy into her own justifications? What lies does Leo tell himself, and why?

Talk about Ronan. How does the author build tension and foreboding around this character?

Fruit Fly can be classified as black humor. How do the funny moments in the novel counteract or rely on the dark ones?

Mallory believes that going “sad” and “dark” will help make her book a success. What does this say about readers? Why do we seek out pain and suffering in books? Should “it made me cry” be a measure of a good book?

At heart, this novel grapples with who has the right to tell what story. How much can authors write about what they haven’t personally experienced? Do good intentions, like wanting to tell a story well or to shine a light on an underrepresented community, change your answer?

Is it the story she wants to tell itself that’s the problem, or how Mallory went about it? At what point does observing someone become using them?

The author is a gay man, but in this book he also writes from the point of view of a straight woman. How is this similar to or different from what Mallory sets out to do?

Okay, that was a gut-punch of an ending. Did you see the twist coming?

What questions did you still have at the end of the book? Would you want to read a sequel?

Ultimately, did you find Fruit Fly to be a hopeful novel?