Pen Pal

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Kayla’s journey is emotional and filled with hesitations and releases, such as her guilt over sleeping with Aidan after Michael’s supposed death or her fulfillment from her sexual and romantic relationship with Aidan. Which of these moments resonated most with you? Why?

2. The novel relies on a specific understanding of death, the afterlife, and spirits. How does Geissinger’s framing align with or challenge your own views? Did you find Geissinger’s conception of “heaven” and “hell” believable? Why or why not?

3. The initial premise of the novel is Kayla receiving a letter from Dante, a mystery man writing to her from prison. How would you react to Dante’s initial letter? How would you react to correspondence from a person in prison claiming to know or love you? How might you advise a friend in Kayla’s position?

4. Although Pen Pal contains supernatural elements, it contains realistic aspects. What similarities do you notice between Geissinger’s world and the society in which you live?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Pen Pal deals extensively with issues of domestic violence through Michael’s emotional and physical abuse of Kayla. Analyze how Kayla’s reaction to domestic violence—particularly her avoidance of confronting its realities or minimizing Michael’s violent actions—reflects the challenges survivors of abuse face in processing or addressing abuse. How does Kayla’s experience reflect structural or social factors that influence patriarchy and marital violence?

2. Discuss the novel’s portrayal of grief. How does the book’s focus on Kayla’s reaction to her husband’s “death” resonate with broader cultural understandings of death and loss?

3. Explore the novel’s portrayal of dominant/submissive sexual dynamics. How does Aidan and Kayla’s sexual relationship represent the BDSM and kink communities?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The book is split into imbalanced parts, titled from Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy. Inferno takes up the largest part of the novel. Why do you think Geissinger chose to dwell extensively in the “hell” section of the novel? Conversely, why might Purgatorio and Paradiso take up less space?

2. Examine how Kayla and Aidan grow as characters on their journey to the afterlife together. Are Kayla and Aidan fundamentally different at the end of the novel from the beginning? If so, how? What kind of character growth happens off the page before Kayla and Aidan’s death?

3. How does Pen Pal adhere to the conventions of the dark romance genre? How does it challenge the traditions of the genre?

4. Pen Pal takes place on Bainbridge Island in Washington State. Discuss the significance of the novel’s setting. How does it contribute to the novel’s tone and atmosphere?