Meet Me at the Lake

What are the parallels between Maggie and Peter’s relationship and Will and Fern’s? In what ways are the relationships similar? How do they differ? What does Fern Brookbanks learn from the dynamic between Maggie and Peter?

What tropes of the modern romance genre does Meet Me at the Lake embrace? What other ways does the novel pay homage to the romance genre, and in what ways does it deviate?

The way reality impacts and modifies plans is a significant theme in the novel. Aside from the way Fern and Will deviate from their one-year plans, what other instances feature characters abandoning or adapting their plans due to the interference of reality?

How do the novel’s interwoven timelines and the choice to tell stories from past and present simultaneously impact the narrative? Do the revelations of the past feel more significant because of this format?

In what ways is Fern and Maggie’s relationship complicated, and how do their actions cause it? Who does the novel suggest is more responsible for their strained relationship?

How do Will’s decisions regarding Annabel and Sofia relate to his feelings about his mother and her abandonment?

The concept of giving only part of oneself to another person is explored through both Maggie and Will’s romantic relationships. What does the novel communicate about the virtues of either accepting or rejecting this way of approaching love?

Why do Peter and Fern agree to change the sourdough bread in the restaurant, and what does this change have to do with The Link Between Grief and Tenderness?