- How does the relationship between Ethan and Lena compare to that of other young literary couples? Think Edward and Bella or Romeo and Juliet.
- Lena and Ethan are super well read. Are you familiar with their favorite authors and poets, like Robert Frost, J.D. Salinger, Charles Bukowski, and Kurt Vonnegut? (Check our Shout-Outs page for more.) How do these famous authors' works influence Lena and Ethan or Beautiful Creatures as a whole?
- Do you think Garcia and Stohl, two female authors, have created a convincing male narrator? Why or why not?
- Do you find it unusual that a novel full of Civil War imagery and allusions kind of ignores the matter of race? How do you think the authors could have fit that in?
- Lena pretty much repeats the same mistakes Genevieve did during the Civil War. Were you surprised that history repeated itself, despite Lena and Ethan's efforts to try to avoid that? Does history always repeat itself?
- If you had to choose Light or Dark on your sixteenth birthday, which way would you go? Be honest! If you're older (don't worry, we won't tell), think about how you acted when you were sixteen. What was important to you?
- Have you researched your family tree? What have your ancestors done, and how have their actions affected your life?