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Wrong Place Wrong Time
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August Group Read Discussion: Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
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Aug 12, 2023 07:37AM
18. Going back in time, Jen starts to realize all the tiny, but important and precious moments she missed with her family. Has reading this book made you start paying more attention to the interactions around you? Or look differently at how you approach everyday life?
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19.Is knowing the future worse than not knowing it? In Chapter Day Minus Sixty, Jen is having an interaction with her trainee Natalia. Because Jen knows the future, she knows that Natalia's boyfriend leaves her unexpectedly. She wrestles with whether to forewarn her or not. What do you think she should do? If you had information about the future would you share it with the person about to be affected?
Interview with Gillian McAllister
In this interview, Gillian and I discuss Wrong Place Wrong Time, plotting this one out, creating the right pacing for the story, finding the right title, the difficulty of building in twists, her podcast, not feeling constrained by the thriller genre, ruminating on how much time changes people, and much more.
📚 Gillian’s recommended reads are:
1. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
2. The It Girl by Ruth Ware
3. The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
Listen to interview here --> https://www.thoughtsfromapage.com/int...
Were you shocked to find out that (view spoiler) from Jen?1 - Did not see that coming!
2 - Knew Jen was (view spoiler)!
3 - There HAS to be more to this
How did you vote???
20. What would you do if you could time travel? Would you go forward or back? Why?
21. As the days go backwards and Jen is searching for clues and missing puzzle pieces, she essentially has to start over each day. Whatever evidence she writes down today will be erased tomorrow. What do you think about how Jen deals with this issue? What strategies would you use in this unique situation?
22. "What do you say to somebody when you know they will be your last words to them?" Jen gets to go back see her father before he dies. What would you say fo someone loved that you lost if you had thr chance?
23. "Jen is really getting what she has always most wanted: a do-over in parenting." Is there anything with your parenting you wish you could do-over?
24. Did you have any ideas or guesses of who Baby Eve was/is?
25. When Jen asks Todd and Kelly what they would do if they were in her position, how do they answer? Do either of them provide any useful insights? What would you do if you were in Jen's position and why?
gillianmauthor - I had the idea for Wrong Place Wrong Time in November 2019, and that moment, the moment I had the idea, I knew. It is peculiar to say, but I did. Call it author instinct, a premonition, whatever, but I knew. “This book is going to change my life,” I said to my husband that night, who tends to ignore these author shows of bravado. But then I emailed my agents @felicityblunt and @lucy.c.morris, and they knew, too. I wrote it over the next year, across two lockdowns, sequestered and lonely but happy, too, with my private project that was going to change everything.The day I sent it off, I felt like I’d lit the touch paper, and was waiting for the fire to ignite. And you know, actually, it took a while. I got foreign rights rejections, a fair few American rejections, and a very brutal edit from my agents. But we still knew.
And here I am, 16 translation deals and going, three months in the Sunday Times, my third week in the New York Times.
The book is dedicated to those agents, the women who champion and sell and guide and edit: to the women who knew.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChrflsjrN...
A Day In The Lifereesesbookclub - A day in the life of @GillianMAuthor. ✨
Raise your pencil if you'd like to spend a dreamy day writing in an English countryside cottage. 🙋♀️✏️
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChzmPl_PQ...
Sunday checkin --> How are you liking the book? What part ae you on??
26. What does Jen say that she has "always looked for" throughout her career as an attorney? Where does she say that evidence is usually found? Would you say this is true within the entire novel as well?
27. "In some ways, Jen is taking inspiration from her husband, who has been so good at lying that his secrets have been hidden in plain sight. There have been no over-explanations, no details at all, in fact. Only a complete lack of them. The best kind of liar. The smartest." How does finding out her husband (view spoiler) affect Jen and the way she handles the situation with her son? Did you think there was more to Todd's story or did you feel he was just a deceptive guy?
If you've been enjoying Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister, then you might want to check out her new book Just Another Missing Person. Gillian McAllister Shares 8 Twisty Missing Person Thrillers
By Gillian McAllister
August 24, 2023
We caught up with author Gillian McAllister to chat about her latest book and get some recommendations for other missing person thrillers to read.
https://www.bookbub.com/blog/Gillian-...
My library loan finally came in so I can get started on this book
1. Have you ever read any of Gillian McAllister's books?Nope.
2. This book was a Reese's Book Club pick for August of last year. Do you follow any celebrity book clubs? If so, which ones?
I don't really follow book clubs.
3. This book has time travel in it. Is this a genre you typically like to read? If not, what drew you to this book?
Yes! I love time travel. I think I like it because it is so versatile. The rules of time travel are always different. The consequences of time travel can go in any direction. Maybe you stop something from happening, but maybe you cause it to happen.
4. This is a story about a mother who tries to correct her son's mistake. Are you a parent? Would you try to correct your child's mistake or let them learn from the consequences?
I'm not a parent. I think it would depend on the mistake. Mistakes are what help you learn and grow. However, if it was a mistake that would affect the rest of my child's life then I would definitely try to correct it.
5. If you were given the option, would you try to change the past? If so, what would you change? If not, why? No, I wouldn't change my past. I like my life in the present. Any bad things that have happened in the past have led me to today.
6. What does it mean to be a good parent? How do parenting choices we make affect our children down the road? And more importantly, if we had the chance to change it all, would we?
I'm not a parent but I imagine you want your children to have a better life than you did. Whatever form that takes, an easier life or a happier life or more opportunities. Also, I think the impulse to change bad things that happen to our children to be pretty understandable.
7. Have you ever had deja-vu? Care to share your experiences?
I have had deja-vu before. I think it is either something that you saw in a dream that you later saw in real life or the fact that our days are all pretty similar to each other anyway (leave for work at the same time, do the same work every day, go the same route home, etc.)
8. The book opens right before Halloween and Jen is carving a pumpkin. Do you have any Halloween traditions?I carve a pumpkin every year with my best friend. We also cook the pumpkin seeds after (even though they never really taste as good as you think they will)
9. "Both phases of parenthood - the newborn years and the almost-adult ones - are bookended by sleep deprivation, though for different reasons." Can you relate to this statement? How so? What part of the parenthood spectrum are you at?
I'm not a parent but I do hear there is a lot of sleep deprivation.
10. What happens in front of the Brotherhood home on Day Zero? What does Jen Brotherhood see and how does she react to what she witnessed? How does this compare to the reactions of her husband Kelly and her son Todd?
(view spoiler)
28. Why do you think the title is Wrong Place, Wrong Time? How does it relate to the actions in the novel?
29. Let’s talk about the night Jen witnesses Todd murder a stranger. What were your thoughts as this unfolded?
30. Jen wakes up to the day before the murder. And then the day before that. How would you have reacted if you were Jen?
31. When did you start to suspect that the police officer Ryan was more connected to the mystery than it seemed? Were you surprised when it turned out that Ryan was in fact, (view spoiler)?
32. As Jen travels back in time, she’s able to view her relationship with Todd in a new light. She at first blames herself—wondering if she worked too hard and wasn’t present enough for Todd. What was the wake up call that showed her that wasn’t the case and it wasn’t her fault what happened?
33. Why did Kelly hide the truth from Jen all this time? How would have things turned out differently if he would have been forthcoming?
34. Jen also revisits her relationship with her deceased father. What was your impression of those scenes and the reveal that her father was working with the criminal Joseph (the person Todd killed in the present timeline)?
35. Eventually, Jen goes to 20 years in the past. Let’s talk about the climax when Jen is able to (view spoiler).
36. What did you think about the ending overall and everything that changed as a result of Jen going back in time?
37. Due to Jen changing the timeline, her friend Pauline is now in the time loop in order to (view spoiler). What do you think will happen there?
11. Who is Jen's "biggest ally, and long-time friend" (40) and how do they react when Jen tells them what is happening to her? What "smart question" (44) do they ask her? Who else does Jen try to explain her experiences to and how do they respond? Why does it matter to Jen that someone believe her - what effect does she imagine this might have?Her oldest friend Rakesh (view spoiler)
12. Throughout the book, Jen reflects on her experiences of motherhood and childrearing. Why does she think she might be at fault for the crime her son Todd has committed? Are you surprised that she blames herself? Why or why not?
She thinks she is at fault because mothers always think they are at fault. I'm not surprised that she blames herself. It seems to be how society conditions mothers to think.
13. What connection does Jen see between her guilt and her so-called susceptibility to "wanting it all" (117). How does her view change as she moves backwards through time?
She felt inadequate as a mother. She went to work and felt she wasn't spending enough time with her kid. She went home and felt she wasn't spending enough time at work.
14. Is knowing the future worse than not knowing it? Would you want to know the future if you had an option?
Knowing the future is worse. I don't think I would want to know the future. If I knew something bad was going to happen, I would spend all that time worrying about it. If I knew something good was going to happen I would never be happily surprised by it.
38. Did you feel the author fully explained the reasons that brought Todd to murder Joseph? Or did you think that needed more context?
39. We never get the full reason why Jen was able to travel back in time—it seems like a vague ‘mothers intuition’. It also implies that this might happen often but then the person forgets once everything has been reset. Did you want more explanation about why this occurred or do you think that description is plenty? What are your feelings overall about these Groundhog Day-type stories?
40. What were your overall thoughts on the book? Did you like it/dislike it? Woukd you recommend thid bok to a friend?
BOOK-ALIKEreesesbookclub - #BookAlike: If you liked #WrongPlaceWrongTime, then give these #ReesesBookClub picks a read—
📘#NorthernSpy by @FlynnBerryAuthor
📗 #TheLastThingHeToldMe by @LauraDaveAuthor
📙#FairPlay by @EveRodsky
https://www.instagram.com/p/CiFtKlVpB...
I have enjoyed discussing this book with everyone. 😊
Mod
At halfway through I went back and made rather extensive notes so that I could continue that as I read further and try to figure out what was happening!
I did manage to guess everything but the last two revelations, and I suspected one of those. That is unusual for me. But I definitely enjoyed the puzzle of piecing it all together over time. I am amazed at writers' ability to configure such complicated an complex story arcs while making it believable and easy to understand!
I plan to read more of her writing!
Yes, I would definitely try to help my child/family. Damn the consequences! ;)
Finally got this book from the library, so chiming in really late.I enjoyed it, I thought it was an interesting take on time travel - I like that she wasn't physically travelling herself, like we usually see, but just waking up each time in her younger body. And some of the moments there, about appreciating what she had in retrospect (like when she looked at her younger son) did make me think about being sure to appreciate thing while you have them.
I also don't know how she did it, but I really liked the relationship between Jen and Kelly. (view spoiler)
There are some things that I don't know if they would work or hold up if the story was told in proper order - like I'm not sure why (view spoiler)
But overall I enjoyed it for a light quick read. Like I said, I liked the version of time travel, and some of the reveals did catch me by surprise.
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
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The Last Thing He Told Me (other topics)
Wrong Place Wrong Time (other topics)
Just Another Missing Person (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Gillian McAllister (other topics)Gillian McAllister (other topics)
Gillian McAllister (other topics)
Gillian McAllister (other topics)
Gillian McAllister (other topics)
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