At the start of the novel, the three sisters live in very different places: London, Paris, and California. What do these locations suggest about their personalities? How do the novel’s different settings contribute to the plot and tone? How are these three locations contrasted with the sisters’ place of origin, New York City?

How do the personalities of the Blue sisters reflect or subvert expectations associated with their birth order? How do their relative ages impact their dynamics?

Early in the novel, Avery agrees to begin trying to conceive a child with Chiti, even though she secretly feels ambivalent. What does her ambivalence reveal about societal attitudes around womanhood and motherhood? What does Avery hope that motherhood will offer her, and what models does she look to in considering what motherhood might look like for her? How might her ambivalence be connected to her role as a substitute mother to her younger sisters?