1. The book is narrated by the adult Frederica Hatch looking back at a tumultuous teenage year.  Does the author make the combined sensibility--16 viewed through the eyes of her present-day self--work?
 
2.  Why might the author have made Dewing a lackluster institution rather than a top-notch college?
 
3.  Frederica asks on page 1, "Were they types, my parents-to-be?  From a distance and for a long time, it appeared to be so."  Does this serve as a warning?  A prediction? A wink from the author?   An apology?
 
4.  Laura Lee French is a distant cousin of her ex-husband. Would the story have unfolded in the same way if she had not been a relative?

5.  Marietta Woodbury and her mother are rude to Laura Lee upon first speaking to her on campus.  Did this meeting resonate with you and signal trouble ahead?     
 
6.  The affair between Laura Lee and President Woodbury is anything but discreet.  Did their public carrying on amuse or offend you?  
 
7.  The professors Hatch are passionately committed to righting wrongs and to each other.  In what ways did they let their daughter down?  
 
8.  What do you see as the turning point toward Frederica's more sympathetic and respectful view of her parents?  

9.  One could say that the Blizzard of '78 was a character in My Latest Grievance.  Did the author succeed in conveying the power of that historical storm and effectively putting you there?  
 
10.  Was there any character you wanted to see more of that was less than fully developed?  
 
11.   Laura Lee French, narcissist extraordinaire. Was it possible to feel sympathy for this character?    
 
12.  Chapter 33, "Emeriti," the epilogue, brings the reader up to the present.  How did the jump in time work for you in terms of wrapping up the story?