Seven Days in June

Eva Mercy is an author who feels creatively stuck, grateful to a series that has made her not only successful and given her a devoted following but also pigeon-holed her as a certain type of writer. Discuss the challenges that artists can experience in changing style.

The potential director for the Cursed movie adaptation states that the characters need to be white to be “accessible.” What are some instances of whitewashing you’ve witnessed in popular culture? Discuss the repercussions this has on our culture and society.

“Your misogynoir is showing” is Eva’s response when Khalid denigrates her writing as “fluff.” Why do you think a value system has been assigned to different kinds of writing, where genres such as fantasy and romance are seen solely as entertainment and not art? Can you think of ways to combat this perception?

Eva Mercy has spent much of her adult life too busy with work and motherhood to date. She’s also been too scared. Discuss the ways that these seven days in June allow Eva to be vulnerable and open herself up to love. How have your own experiences with love made you feel vulnerable?

Eva and Shane both feel like misfits and outsiders. When they meet, they seem to understand each other on a molecular level. What does Seven Days in June make you feel about the importance of being loved and understood by someone else? Discuss what the novel says about allowing yourself to be seen and accepted for who you are.

Motherhood, mothering, and what we carry through generations are themes at the core of Seven Days in June. Discuss the ways that both Lizette and Eva carry traumas of their ancestors with them, and the ways it makes Eva intent on not repeating the cycle with Audre. How have you seen this play out in your own life, in your relationships with your parents or your children?

Shane works with students like Ty to give back to the community and heal from his own childhood trauma. Later, when he decides to coach basketball at the YMCA, he’s found a different model of giving back, without creating unhealthy dependencies. Discuss Shane’s trajectory over these seven days and the ways in which he grows.

Lizette tells Eva, more than once, that the women in their family are cursed in love, which Eva believes to be true. However, she eventually breaks free from that mentality when she realizes that, unlike all the other women in her family, she found a man who loved every part of her. Looking at Eva’s life, and your own experiences, how does one learn from the choices of those before them? How does one keep from making the same choices?

Eva and Shane’s relationship illustrates that though two people can fall in love with one another, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are always ready to be together. Eva and Shane realize that to be together they need to work on themselves. What were some of the ways that Shane and Eva needed to heal and deal with their pasts in order to be ready for one another? What does the novel say about being ready for love, being in love, and growing in love?

What other sweeping dramatic love stories does Eva and Shane’s remind you of?