If your book group would like to read Eden Lake, Jane would be more than happy to do a Q & A via Skype or phone, or in person in the greater Boston area, schedule permitting. Drop her a line: jane @  janeroper.com

Discussion starters:

1. Did you go to camp—or wish you had—as a child? How did your camp experience (or your perception of camp) compare with the Camp Eden Lake experience?

2. The author suggests that Camp Eden Lake as portrayed in the present day of the book (1998) has changed significantly since it was founded thirty years earlier. What were some of those changes, and why do you think they happened? Did they have primarily to do with the leadership of the camp, or with changes in American culture and society at large?

3. Each of the siblings (including Aura) reacted to Clay’s infidelity in very different ways. Why do you think each one reacted the way he or she did? What were the ramifications of his actions on the choices—big and small—that the siblings make in their lives, and during the course of the summer?

4. Abe “no longer (buys) the ‘infidelity as symptom of something that’s wrong with the relationship,’ theory. Sometimes, people just made bad choices.” Do you agree with his assessment? How about as it applies to the acts of infidelity that various characters in the book commit?

5. Which of the siblings—Eric, Jude, Abe or Aura—did you like / relate to the best? Which one do you think grew or changed the most during the course of the summer?

6. Which of the minor characters did you enjoy reading about the most, and why?

7. What did you think of Abe’s “Free Speech” sessions? Did he cross the line in some of the topics he discussed with the campers? Were there other instances of “oversharing” in the book?

8. Social change and idealism are themes throughout the book. Do you think that social change can happen at a summer camp? Do you agree with Abe’s assessment that in the sixties, social change was more about the “helpers” where as in the present day of the book, it was more about the “helpees”?

9. Where do you think each of the main characters will be five years from where the book ends?