If I Ruled the World

These book club questions are from the publisher, Flatiron Books.

Welcome to the Reading Group Guide for If I Ruled The World. Please note: In order to provide reading groups with the most informed and thought-provoking questions possible, it is sometimes necessary to reveal important aspects of the plot of the novel, as well as the ending. If you have not finished reading If I Ruled The World, we respectfully suggest that you wait before reviewing this guide.

A MOST ANTICIPATED Book (Oprah Daily, Essence, Bustle, Stylist, Missing Perspectives, and more!)

"The first CAN'T MISS page-turner of 2026." —Oprah Daily • "EXCEPTIONAL." —Forbes • "CAPTIVATING." —Essence • "Sizzling...A SEXY, FAST-PACED ride!” —Tia Williams, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author

In development as a MAJOR TV SERIES with Hulu!

A juicy debut novel that peeks behind the curtain at the cutthroat world of hip-hop music and the glamorous magazine scene in the late 1990s, written by the ultimate insider

It's 1999, and Nikki Rose is the only Black editor on the staff of a prestigious fashion magazine she once thought would be her ticket to becoming a respected editor in chief. But after being told one too many times by her boss that “Black girls don’t sell magazines,” she quits to take over Sugar, a struggling hip hop music and lifestyle magazine with untapped potential.

Thrown into an entirely new world of wealth, decadence, and debauchery, Nikki has just six months to save Sugar—and her own dreams. As she pulls all-nighters at the office and parties with New York City’s most influential bad boys, Nikki must prove she has what it takes to lead. But her most dangerous challenge is evading Alonzo Griffin, her very married, very powerful ex-lover and former boss, who is determined to destroy both her and Sugar. Along the way, Nikki leans on a circle of loyal friends and navigates unexpected romances that force her to reckon with what—and who—she truly wants.

If I Ruled the World is a smart, utterly immersive journey through one of the most dynamic eras in pop culture history—a story of ambition, friendship, love, and finding your own voice.

Book club questions for If I Ruled the World by Amy DuBois Barnett

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

What significance does the title If I Ruled the World have for you? What tone does it set for the novel, and did it have new resonance for you after you finished reading?

What did you think about the prologue of the novel? How did it set the stage for Nikki’s career and the rest of her relationships in the book?

If I Ruled The World takes place in the late ‘90s and early 2000s—how do you feel it captured that time period in media and music? What parallels can you draw to our own current moment?

How would you characterize Nikki’s friendship with Teresa? What about their relationship feels different from other coworker relationships Nikki has in the book?

Early on in the novel, Nikki and Teresa have a conversation in which Nikki says that Sugar feels exciting to her because she deserves “better than the way magazines treat us now.” Is she referring to the magazines’ employees or audiences—or both? How do you feel the mainstream magazines in the novel disregarded their staff and audiences of color? Do you feel that Sugar was any different?

How do you feel Alonzo impacted Nikki’s life and career over the course of the novel? Do you feel his position in her life changed from the beginning of the novel to the end? If so, how?

What did you think about Nikki’s relationship with Joseph? Why do you think her feelings about him evolved over the course of the book?

Consider Nikki’s relationship with her mother. How do you feel Nikki’s desire for her mom’s approval shaped her decisions around her career and love life?

When Nikki tells Barbara about her uncomfortable interaction with a man in a Bentley after a wild party, Barbara downplays it and says she doesn’t understand why Nikki is so freaked out. Similarly, Barbara also tries to convince Nikki to apologize and print a retraction after her hard-hitting and condemnatory profile on the rapper Sliq Bishopp. What do you make of the two women’s very different approaches to journalism and to moving through the urban world? Were you ever surprised by Barbara’s reactions, or do you feel they made sense given her character?

Consider Nikki’s interview with Bishopp and the profile she wrote about him. What statement do you think the novel is trying to make about gendered power dynamics in the music and media industries—is exposing powerful men publicly the only way to hold them accountable?

What did you think of Nikki’s Notes? How do you feel they worked as an interlude throughout the novel, and how did they help you gain insight into Nikki as a character?

In many ways, If I Ruled The World is a story about Nikki’s search for empowerment. Do you feel her definition of power changed over the course of the book? What do you think the novel equates with power for women—is it money, a promotion, a certain type of relationship?

How is Nikki’s relationship with Derek different than the other men she’s dated? What do you think their future holds?

What did you think of the ending of the novel? Do you feel Nikki changed or grew over the course of the story, and if so how?

If I Ruled the World Book Club Questions PDF

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A Most Anticipated Book (Oprah Daily, Essence, Bustle, Stylist, Missing Perspectives)
A Best Book of the Month (People)

"A sharp, glossy throwback to 1999 New York...Barnett’s insider industry perspective gives every office power play and party scene a lived-in charge...This is set to be the first can’t-miss page-turner of 2026."—Oprah Daily

“Fast-paced, juicy, glamorous…If I Ruled the World does an exceptional job of shining a light on the underbelly of taxing and toxic workplaces, and provides an unflinching look at what it costs women to succeed in male-dominated spaces.”—Forbes

“Packed with glitzy fashion, steamy sex, delicious drama, and fierce ambition…The page-turner is fast-paced and offers healthy doses of ambition, drama and love all with a sexy backdrop of the 1990s hip-hop, fashion and magazine industries. It is guaranteed to have your group chat buzzing!” —Essence

“A nostalgic debut about ambition, power and self-discovery…Barnett taps into her years as an industry insider to capture the glamorous toxicity and debauchery of the 1990s magazine industry. In this story about a Black editor who quits a gig at a glossy to take over a struggling hip-hop magazine, main character Nikki is Carrie Bradshaw meets Kimora Lee Simmons.” —People

“Barnett offers a unique vantage point…[She] draws on her lived experience of the late nineties, built into a fictional world that reflects the cost of ambition, the politics of media power, and the personal trade-offs Black women dealt with to achieve success.” —Ebony

"A young editor navigates the sleek, sexy, and competitive world of late-’90s magazines in Amy DuBois Barnett’s irresistible debut. After reading about fictional Nikki Rose, you’ll want to learn more about Barnett—herself a major voice in media who’s helmed magazines such as Ebony, Honey, and Teen People." —Bustle

“The novel is sexy and nostalgic, built to be devoured. A glossy, propulsive page turner, it revels in the heady thrill of the era…while remaining clear-eyed about the danger that simmered beneath the surface… Asks a question that still resonates: What would it look like if women didn’t just participate in culture but ruled it?” —UPTOWN Magazine

“A grand, sizzling, and fun ride down memory lane…Challenges readers to look beyond the surface in both love and life to better understand what truly drives our attachments.” —The Grio

“The novel has serious things to say about Black women’s empowerment while also dishing up plenty of sex, fashion, and friendship. Style, love, and hip hop converge in this lively, likable novel.” —Kirkus

"Funny, sexy, witty, and full of grit, If I Ruled The World is for anyone who’s spent a lifetime climbing a ladder that keeps adding rungs. This fierce, unputdownable, guilty pleasure of a novel steps back into the uniquely fabulous and ruthless New York hustle at the turn of the century, through the eyes of a real Working Girl and industry insider, when the biggest players moving the needle of culture were grinding for recognition in a society that would rather look away. An utterly intoxicating debut." —Xochitl Gonzalez, New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming

“I’m always here for 90’s nostalgia, especially of the NYC variety—and Amy Dubois Barnett’s If I Ruled the World scratches the itch. As a major player in the fashion and music scenes of the era, who better than Barnett to weave a world sizzling with such delicious romance, swagger, and intrigue? A sexy, fast-paced ride!” —Tia Williams, New York Times bestselling author of A Love Song for Ricki Wilde

“If I Ruled the World had me hooked from the very first page. This fascinating story from inside magazine publishing—and the music world—really hits all the right notes: it's meaningful, nostalgic, heartfelt, and resonant.” —Kate Fagan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Three Lives of Cate Kay

“With a keen eye and an accomplished voice, Amy DuBois Barnett takes us on a thrilling ride through the high-stakes world of magazine publishing in 1990s New York. At the intersection of fashion and hip-hop, If I Ruled the World captures the glamour, danger, and magic of a defining moment in American culture. An utterly dazzling debut!” —Robinne Lee, international bestselling author of The Idea of You

"Amy DuBois Barnett’s debut sparkles with drama, scandal, and ’90s New York energy. She powerfully captures a pressure-cooker moment of transition—the messy work of growing past bad choices, squaring ambition with integrity, and holding on to your ride-or-dies. It’s a pitch-perfect depiction of a world I didn’t want to leave." —Essie Chambers, national bestselling author of Swift River