1
Bettie feels pressured to live up to her family name, but also to the Bettie name, which she inherited from her grandma. To what extent does she attribute her successes and/or failures to her lineage? How do you think family history can impact a holiday celebration?
2
Why do you think Bettie puts so much pressure on gift-giving? How does this compare to the way she uses social media? Discuss the role that location plays in both these rituals in this book.
3
If your very own Hall appeared in your life, what would your first wish be? Which wish would immediately make Hall disappear from your life?
4
When Bettie first arrives at the Watson-Hughes Christmas dinner, she doesn’t feel that she has succeeded in making the grand entry she wanted, because no family member gives her much notice. Why do you think this was? What do you think Bettie wanted from her relatives?
5
Bettie pretends she’s starring in My Eyre Ladies to steal Felix’s spotlight, and Felix gets angry. How does sibling rivalry play a part in Just Like Magic? How are the siblings able to make progress in their adult relationships by the end?
6
Bettie and Hall go on their holiday shopping road trip when Bettie grants Hall some of his greatest wishes by showing him mundane human experiences. Later, when Hall returns at the end, Bettie describes him as, “simply a man: unmagical, and yet the most magical person there ever was.” Discuss the implications of the word magic in this story.
7
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” in all its magic-fueled renditions, perfectly encapsulates Bettie and Hall’s bond. Play the song with your book club and discuss how the song plays into the themes of the novel.
8
Hall has the magical ability to statistically know how happy Bettie is. How does Bettie’s involuntary vulnerability propel their relationship? How are happiness and love entwined and in what ways do they differ?
9
What does it mean for Hall’s purpose to be to instill happiness in others? How does author Sarah Hogle demonstrate Bettie’s happiness apart from Hall? How do you think their happiness will evolve after the events of the novel?
10
In writing Just Like Magic, Hogle pays homage to the gleeful spirit of the holidays. What make holidays feel so special? Discuss with your book club your favorite holiday, and how your respective Halls would appear to you all.