An Education in Ruin
Book Club Discussion Guide
1. Why is making Jasper fall in love with her so important to Collins? What do you think Collins wanted to prove to herself by making Jasper love her?
2. Why do you think Collins felt more comfortable confiding in Sebastian than in Jasper? Why do you think she placed so much worth in what Jasper thought of her? Was she trying to control Jasper’s feelings toward her to protect herself more than to preserve their relationship?
3. Why did Collins feel it was easier to cut off her mom and aunt than her dad when she considered them all accomplices? What happened to Collins since arriving at Rutherford that made her brave enough to finally tell her dad the truth?
4. Do you think Rob James’s feelings for Jasper were real? Did she make the recording of him because she cared for him or because she wanted to keep her power or both?
5. Do you think Anastasia and Collins have a real friendship by the end of the book? How does Collins’s initial impression of Anastasia change?
6. Why didn’t Collins use the recording against Mrs. Mahoney to get her to stop seeing her father? Do you think that she agreed with Rob and deleted the recording to protect Jasper?
7. Do you think Theo will be relieved to no longer have to keep up the charade of his and Stewart’s scheme? How do you think this will affect his relationship with his family and with Stewart?
