Beyond the Sea: Room Three

Chat by Chapter: End of Chapter 29

Welcome to the first discussion room for Beyond the Sea! We are so glad you're here.

This room is for readers at the end of Chapter 29. Not there yet? Go back! Spoilers lie ahead.

Did you read further ahead? Come chat, but keep upcoming details to yourself. Anything that comes after Chapter 29 is strictly off-limits! Enter other rooms here.

Anyone can vote in the polls, but you'll have to join the site to leave a comment. It's a quick sign-up that won't result in any emails from me (unless you also sign up for my newsletter). I wish I could leave it free and open, but the bots are just too prevalent for that to work. Thanks for joining!

Intro & Guidelines

Congrats on completing the most complicated part of the Chat by Chapter experience - scanning your QR Code. Now that you're in the room, dive in!

Scroll down for...

• Quick Polls

• Discussion Prompts

• A comment section to share your thoughts and ideas (don't forget to reply to others!)

Click here for more information on Chat by Chapter and how it works.

Guidelines

• Lurk if you must, but it's way more fun if you join in.

• Keep it respectful - Rudeness gets you booted.

• No spoilers! If you've read ahead, save those thoughts for the other rooms.

• Talk to me like we're chatting on the couch over a bottle of wine (the nonalcoholic kind, if you like). Give us your thoughts. Ask us your questions. We want it all... There are no stupid comments in a book discussion. Probably.

Quick Polls

Vote below! Explain your answers in the comments to spark discussion.

How do we feel about Joe? (Round 3)

• Love him! Relatable
• Hate him! Jerk
• It's complicated
• Not sure yet! Must know more...

How do we feel about Lisa?

• Not guilty! Wrong place, wrong time.
• Super guilty. She did it, and she's evil!
• Not guilty, but a crappy friend.
• Guilty! And justified.

How do we feel about Jack?

• A jerk
• A good person who made a bad choice
• A good person whose actions were justified
• Still unsure - need more info

Discussion Prompts

Open the expandable lists below for prompts to start the discussion. Pick one to answer in a comment. Or, add a new comment with your thoughts on the story thus far. These prompts & sentence starters are suggestions, not requirements.

Beyond the Sea: Chapter 29

• Explain your answers to any of the polls

• Share your reaction to Lisa and Jack's relationship.

• Share your reaction to learning that Joe spent the wedding night with the waitress.

• Share your reaction to Joe pursuing law school and applying for the Lincoln Scholarship. Did this change the way you felt about him?

• How does this chapter impact the way you feel about Joe, Ally, or their friends?

• Make a prediction: What happens next?

General Sentence Starters

• I loved this part because...

• I hated this part because...

• I would NEVER...

• This is relatable because...

• I'm predicting that...

• I'm so insert emotion here because...

• I agree with you because...

• I disagree with you because...

• I want to talk about...

• I love character  because...

• I hate character because...

Thoughts From Me (the Author!)

One of the themes throughout the book is friendship, specifically between women at different stages of life. Female friendship is complex, somehow deep and shallow all at once.

You'll be indescribably close, knowing each other better than you know yourself. Then, somehow, fight over impossibly small stuff - who shared too much information with someone else, or who flirted with some guy first.

Sometimes you bicker, or fight hard, screwing each other over in ways that you maybe never meant to as life takes you to new places. You might call each other a bad name, or talk shit to a mutual friend, just to vent.

But at the end of the day, you're still friends. You still show up to one another's weddings, and you push the drama aside as your friendship evolves and endures. That's life, isn't it? At least in those early years of growing pains, doing your best to become who you are.

Ally and her friends... Well, this is that, embodied. Years of love, and ups and downs, culminating in Lisa joining Jack on his and Ally's wedding night.