Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 125117 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125117 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“Hit me.”
“I really, really want to kiss you,” Carys said. “And I wonder what you think about that?”
Greta blinked at Carys asking, then she remembered. It was what Carys had said the first time they’d kissed, in this very spot.
“Shut the hell up and kiss me already,” Greta replied, as she had all those months ago.
Carys’ lips were lemon and honey, her mouth a luscious play of love and want. The kiss was sweet until it went dark and hungry, Carys’ tongue sliding against her own and sending shivers through her legs and guts, directly to her crotch.
“Damn,” Carys said as Greta breathed, “Wow.”
Then by unspoken agreement, they reached for each other’s hands and walked slowly, love-drenched, back to the home they would soon share, New Orleans providing the chorus.
THE END
Bonus Material
Enjoy your very own holiday as Roan Parrish takes you on a tour of the world of The Holiday Trap, including:
1. A sample from Truman’s bullet journal, ready to be copied for your own use
2. Questions for your next book club meeting
3. Roan Parrish’s latke recipe
4. And even more holiday cheer!
Reading Group Guide
1. At the beginning of the book, both Truman and Greta want to escape from emotionally difficult situations by going somewhere completely new. Have you ever imagined running away (even for a short time) and experiencing a completely fresh start? Where would you go and what would you do?
2. What it is about being in a new place that gives us perspective on our lives? Have you ever found changing your location changed your outlook?
3. Greta has a very involved family—sometimes a bit too involved for her liking. How might this have influenced Greta’s personality? Is Greta’s family anything like your own?
4. Ramona is Truman and Greta’s mutual friend who “traps” them into confronting their dissatisfaction by coaxing them into leaving the comfort of their familiar lives. What do you think her role in the story is, beyond the trap? Other than Truman and Greta, who else is trapped in The Holiday Trap?
5. By the end of The Holiday Trap, none of the characters work for anyone but themselves. The work force has shifted greatly over the last decade, with fewer and fewer people pursuing what we might call traditional career paths, and instead opting to work independently. What circumstances and shifts do you think are driving that impulse, and where do these characters demonstrate those shifts?
6. Ash’s mother has Alzheimer’s and dementia. Truman suggests that rather than Ash being her sole caregiver, she get housemates who can provide support, basing his suggestion on programs that have been tried internationally, pairing young people who can’t afford rent with senior citizens who can’t get out easily. The results were great community and joy among the participants. This works out great for Ash’s mom! How do you think this might work on a larger scale? Would you want to participate if given the chance? Why or why not?
7. Carys’ mother is a covert narcissist. As a result, Carys has learned highly adaptive survival and coping mechanisms for dealing with her. But these same mechanisms have influenced her emotional responses to the world. How has Carys adapted because of this dynamic? What moments in the text do you see evidence of what she’s learned to do to work through conflict?
8. Greta falls in with a group of gardening enthusiasts all in their sixties or older. What importance does intergenerationality play in The Holiday Trap? Are there lessons you’ve learned because you’ve had access to people much younger or older than yourself?
9. Truman is obsessed (his word!) with The Dead of Zagørjič, a fantasy series by Agatha Tark. What role have these books played in Truman’s life? Is there a book that was formative to you? In what ways did it shape you?
10. Greta grew up in the only Jewish family on Owl Island. Antisemitism is still very much alive in 2022. Even though she isn’t religious, this cultural difference affected her. How do Greta’s experiences differ from those of the gentiles around her? Have you experienced being in the minority because of any part of your identity or circumstance? How did it feel? Did it change how you view the world? Did it affect how you treated other people moving forward?
11. Helen and Victoria, Carys’ housemates, become dear friends of Greta’s as well. Helen is nonbinary and Victoria is trans. Both of them, and Carys, are queer. Most of their friends in the book are queer, trans, or gender nonconforming. Why is it crucial to the story that Greta joins a queer community? If you’re part of the queer community, did a mainly queer friend/found family group feel familiar to you? Why is it so important for queer people?
12. By the end of the novel, Greta confronts her family about how she’s been feeling and why she is going to make her move permanent. They do not respond the way she was hoping. Why do you think some members of the Russakoff family have a hard time acknowledging Greta’s experiences?