1. “Myth has two main functions. The first is to answer the sort of awkward questions that children ask, such as: ‘Who made the world? How will it end? Who was the first man? Where do souls go after death?’… The second function of myth is to justify an existing social system and account for traditional rites and customs.” Were you familiar with the history of Nevada divorce ranches before reading BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME? What was the most interesting thing you learned about this time in history?

2. Why do you think the author chose to frame the story through Ward’s retelling 50 years later? How does it affect your experience of the story, knowing that we’re seeing this through the eyes of Ward looking back on it? How different do you think the story would have been if it were told through the recollections of a different character instead?

3. Why do you think Nina and Emily take to each other so quickly despite all their differences? What makes their friendship work so well?

4. There are several allusions to Hollywood throughout the story, from the ranch being designed by a movie set designer to characters comparing each other’s appearances to various actors. Why do the characters like to imagine themselves as part of a movie? Do you think it had to do with the historical context of the Great Depression and the power that popular film had begun to have on the imagination in the 1930s?

5. Do you think Nina, Emily and Ward ever would have become friends outside of the Flying Leap? How does the environment bring them together in a way that overcomes the differences of their everyday lives?

6. What is the role of class in the story? How do the characters’ various backgrounds and social standings affect how they interact with and view each other?

7. Emily says she and Ward were “just pretending,” but he disagrees. Do you think they were pretending, or were their feelings genuine? How do various characters pretend throughout the book, and why is it so hard for them to be authentic?

8. How did you feel about the ending? Why do you think the author ended the book on such an open-ended note? What do you think (or hope) happened next?

9. Who is your favorite character in the story, and why? Was there a character you particularly related to?

10. BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME is inspired in part by true events from the author’s family history. Are there any stories in your own family history that you think could make for an interesting book?