Kill Joy

How does the author, Holly Jackson, use descriptive language and other literary devices to heighten the sense of tension and danger in the narrative? In what ways does she conform to, or diverge from, common tropes in the murder-mystery genre?

An important theme in the text is the lasting impacts of major events on a town’s collective memory. How is this idea explored as the characters play the murder-mystery game?

Explore the concept of justice in the text. How does the novella examine the nature of justice?

Analyze Ant Lowe. How is he characterized? What is his wider significance in the text?

How does the novel play with the idea of fiction or fantasy imitating reality, and vice versa? How does playing the game change the way Pip views her real life and personal potential?

While all the characters have been impacted by the traumatic murder of Andie Bell, they respond to it in different ways. How are the characters similar or different in their responses? What do these responses reveal about the various impacts that traumatic events can have?

Pip wrestles with the idea of truth and lies throughout the novella, questioning if narratives are misleading or more complicated than they first appear. How does the novella explore the idea of true and false narratives? What forms do these narratives take?

Pip and the other characters must learn how to develop critical-thinking and investigative skills to solve the mystery. How do these skills contrast with the idea of intuition and emotion in the text? What is the role of each?