Dear Readers, Thank you for even thinking about reading The Impossible Us. For more reasons than I have space to go into now, it’s extremely close to my heart, and although I shouldn’t really admit this, out of all the books I’ve written over the years, it’s by far my favorite. I write in a dusty old shed in the garden (accompanied by a gang of rescue dogs and some seriously enormous spiders), and there were days when I was having such a blast with it that my family had to drag me out of there to do normal-person things like sleeping and eating. This novel is a departure for me. If I’m known in the book world at all, it’s as a writer of horror, speculative, and thriller fiction, but sometimes a story refuses to stay in a particular genre lane, and if I’d put, say, a horror spin on a concept that demanded to be a rom-com with multiple twists, my characters would have been livid (never, ever annoy your characters–if you do, they will make your life a misery). I was extremely fortunate to have very understanding and imaginative editors who were not at all fazed when I went off piste. I hope there are bits in the novel that make you laugh, but as there’s nothing more subjective than humor, if you don’t find it funny, then that’s my fault, not yours! At the very least, I hope it entertains you and takes you out of the real world for a little while. I also hope you get a kick out of the ending, which I rewrote approximately 150 times (after all that, I went with my first idea in the end because it just felt right). Thank you again,
Sarah
Discussion Questions 1.
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Bee and Nick fall in love online. Do you believe it’s possible to fall for someone you’ve never actually met in person? Has this ever happened to you or someone you know? Bee has major issues around commitment and uses workaholism as a crutch; Nick is wary of change and has wasted years clinging to a failing marriage. Do their flaws make them more sympathetic, or less? In time-honored rom-com style, Bee and Nick decide to meet, which is where things get really twisty. Everyone knows that the mainstay of a love story is an obstacle that contrives to keep the protagonists apart, and their obstacle is a biggie in anyone’s book. Did this twist take you by surprise or did you see it coming?
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Believe it or not, The Berenstain Society’s beliefs are based on an existing multiverse conspiracy theory! Do you believe there could be other worlds and timelines running parallel to ours, or is this just the stuff of fiction? At one point in the novel, Bee chastises herself for using the unprecedented “quantum anomaly miracle” she and Nick find themselves in “just to date a guy.” Do you approve of Bee and Nick’s plan to seek out the alternative versions of each other, or do you think it’s morally dubious? What would you do in their situation? Bee’s world is environmentally and politically very similar to our own. Nick’s world is greener, but is more authoritarian (for example, there are strict laws governing online interaction and social media). Whose world would you rather live in?
Discussion Questions (cont.) 7.
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Bee’s and Nick’s reactions to their alternative selves are very different: Bee is protective of her alterego Becca; Nick is initially envious of Nicolas, his “perfect” and professionally more successful alterego. Why do you think this is? Bee, who is child-free by choice, is deeply shocked when she discovers that Becca is a mother as it challenges the core of who she thinks she is. Is there anything your hypothetical other self could do that would shock you to the same extent? Nick discovers that his life took a turn due to something relatively inconsequential. Is there any point in your life–big or small–where you think your life may have turned out very differently if you’d made a different choice?
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Despite being attracted to the alternative versions of each other, Bee and Nick both eventually feel there is something missing in these relationships. Why do you think this is? Do you think we are shaped more by nature or nurture? Despite her reservations, Bee goes through with her marriage to Nicolas, and Nick embarks on an impetuous and ridiculous plan to help Becca escape an abusive relationship. Do these morally murky actions change your view of the protagonists? How did you feel about the ambiguity of the ending? Would you describe it as happy, sad, or a mixture of both?
Note the Differences How many differences and similarities between Bee’s world and Nick’s world can you remember?
Bee’s World Ex: Tindr
Similarities
Ex: Plastic bans
Nick’s World
Mandela Effect Misremembering The Berenstain Bears as The Berenstein Bears is an example of the Mandela effect, a phenomenon where people believe something that did not happen or recall it differently from the way it actually happened. Let’s see how well you do with some of these common instances of the Mandela effect!
Pick the correct movie line: 1. A. “Luke, I am your father.” 5. A. “You’re going to need a B. “No, I am your father.”
bigger boat.” B. “We’re going to need a bigger boat.”
2. A. “All right, Mr. DeMille. I’m
ready for my close-up.” B. “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.”
6. A. “Life was like a box of chocolates.” B. “Life is like a box of chocolates.”
3. A. “Hello, Clarice.”
B. “Good evening, Clarice.”
4. A. “If you build it, they will
7.
A. “Play it again, Sam.” B. “Play it, Sam.”
come.” B. “If you build it, he will come.”
Pick the correct spelling: 1. A. Oscar Mayer 5. A. Fruit Loops B. Oscar Meyer
B. Froot Loops
2. A. Cheez-It
6. A. Double Stuff Oreo
3. A. Febreeze
7.
B. Cheez-Itz
B. Febreze
4. A. The Flintstones B. The Flinstones
B. Double Stuf Oreo A. Skechers B. Sketchers
Mandela Effect (cont.) True or false: 1. The Monopoly Man has a monocle. 2. Curious George has no tail. 3. C-3PO is solid gold. 4. The Fruit of the Loom logo features a cornucopia. 5. In the iconic dance scene in the movie Risky Business, Tom Cruise is wearing sunglasses.
6. Leonardo DiCaprio took home his first Oscar for Best Actor in 2016.
Answers: Movie lines: 1. B, 2. A, 3. B, 4. B, 5. A, 6. A, 7. B Spelling: 1. A, 2. A, 3. B, 4. A, 5. B, 6. B, 7. A True or False: 1. False, 2. True, 3. False, 4. False, 5. False, 6. True