Despite this, we decided to move forward with posting some discussion questions. Please feel free to join in no matter what stage of the book you are at. By the way, a few of us have gently used copies we would be happy to forward to anyone interested in reading this delightful tale. Drop us a line if interested.
1) Who was your favorite character? The book had a lot of colorful secondary characters – did you have a favorite there?
2) What did you think about Teddy’s nannying style?
3) How did you feel about the revelations about Teddy’s past and the twists and turns at the end of the book?
4) Do you think Teddy changed in the course of the book? If so, how?
5) What were your feelings about the the romance between Teddy and Chandler? Did you think they made a believable couple?
Tags: Book Club, Greece, Margaret Hastings-James, Star Crossed
Great questions, Jenny. I’ll be interested to see the answers.
Margaret
Okay, I’ll take a shot at answering these myself!:
1) Who was your favorite character? The book had a lot of colorful secondary characters – did you have a favorite there?
I think I liked some of the secondary characters the best – Chloe and George, particularLy.
2) What did you think about Teddy’s nannying style?
I thought it worked pretty well with the kids most of the time, but I did think there was some suspension of disbelief required to accept that Chandler was okay with her screw-ups, which were plentiful.
3) How did you feel about the revelations about Teddy’s past and the twists and turns at the end of the book?
I thought they explained a lot about her character; while they were hinted at earlier I wouldn’t have minded a bit more information earlier in the book about how they affected her personality. As for the ending, it was a little over the top for me; I didn’t think Olivia needed to be *that* much of a villain. But it fit in with the madcap sort of feel of the book.
4) Do you think Teddy changed in the course of the book? If so, how?
I’m not sure she changed that much. I think she was finally ready to stop hiding out from her life, so that was a change. But I think her personality stayed pretty much the same. She didn’t turn into super-nanny or anything – I liked that.
5) What were your feelings about the the romance between Teddy and Chandler? Did you think they made a believable couple?
I did. The “average girl with movie star” pairing is always a little hard to swallow, but I thought their personalities meshed well together; you could see why they would like each other and eventually fall in love.
This was a fun read!
Thanks Jennie. I agree with most of your answers.
3) How did you feel about the revelations about Teddy’s past and the twists and turns at the end of the book? I didn’t think this was as believable as it could have been. I think her healing process was to contrite. Those were some major issues she was dealing with. Throw Olivia into the mix and I don’t think anyones emotional health would be able to sustain being happy, happy, without some serious intervention.
Also there are some typos in the story and these drive me crazy for a published book. ex. Macey’s for Macy’s
Hi. Just want to make sure this thread stays current.
I have another 30-40 pages to go.
I am enjoying it. I am looking forward to the big reveal.
Just throwing out that I like Teddy’s nannying style. She clearly is what Josh needs. I am warming up to Sam and Teddy seems to handle her the best that she can. I understand – from personal experience
– that teenage girls are difficult…..
Another thing Margaret (hope it’s ok to call you Margaret!) has done well is to bring the reader into what’s its like to experience life at this Greek resort. I am dying to go now…!
Oh my. All the drinking. I am in awe and horrified at the same time. I could never keep up with that, but it is kind of fun to read about.
I’ll post answers to the questions as soon as I finish.
Ok, I finished the book today. I enjoyed it because it was easy fun reading. There are all kinds of books out there and this one fit perfect for what I needed to read this month.
I kept thinking of Jennifer Aniston in the part of Teddy.
Now to answer the questions.
1) Who was your favorite character? The book had a lot of colorful secondary characters – did you have a favorite there? For me it was the obvious, Teddy. I found myself laughing out load at some of the things she came up with. I think Chole would be the secondary character. They type of friend one always would like to have.
2) What did you think about Teddy’s nannying style? She wasn’t a nanny by trade and if she was the “perfect nanny” it would have not worked for this book. I did kind of wonder about bringing the teenage daughter to the party towards the end of the book. Not great judgment.
3) How did you feel about the revelations about Teddy’s past and the twists and turns at the end of the book? A little strange but fit in with the whole scheme of things.
4) Do you think Teddy changed in the course of the book? If so, how? No, and I liked that about her character. She had her faults but they were faults that could be overlooked. Although, I did not like that she smoked so much. Or even at all.
5) What were your feelings about the the romance between Teddy and Chandler? Did you think they made a believable couple? I did. I think the ages of both characters made this more believable. I was glad Teddy was 36 with some life experience under her belt.
I did enjoy this book and it was a fun read.
I read the book a couple of months ago so it isn’t as fresh in my mind but the questions brought it back.
My favorite character (other than Teddy) was definitely George. We all need a gernerous friend with an endless supply of designer duds.
I think Teddy and Chandler made a delightful couple! I loved him.
As far as her Nannying style- she was so wonderful with the little one. Sam was certainly a teen monster. I think she did the best she could with her….. lol.
It would be very cute a movie- love the idea of Jen as a Teddy. Keira Knightly could be George!
Jennifer Aniston as Teddy. Keira Knightly as George. Great choices.
Now we must decide on our leading man, ladies! Thoughts?
1) Who was your favorite character? The book had a lot of colorful secondary characters – did you have a favorite there?
I agree, Teddy was very lovable and one could not help, but root for her. I also liked George and Chloe – I appreciated the strong female friendships in the book. I liked Michel too and was glad he didn’t betray Teddy.
2) What did you think about Teddy’s nannying style?
As I stated in a previous post, I think she was kind of the right person for the job. She handled Josh especially well.
3) How did you feel about the revelations about Teddy’s past and the twists and turns at the end of the book?
The book did turn kind of abruptly dark towards the end, but it kept me hooked to see what was going to happen.
4) Do you think Teddy changed in the course of the book? If so, how?
I think she can gained some confidence in herself. She certainly became more willing to accept that she was worthy of love, which was nice to see. I have to agree with Pam – the smoking turned me off, especially since I believe she was shown still smoking after she gave birth to her daughter. I figured the drinking would eventually level off, so that didn’t concern me as much. I hope I don’t seem judgy, I just have a real issue with smoking due to the toll its taken in my own family.
5) What were your feelings about the the romance between Teddy and Chandler? Did you think they made a believable couple?
I think it worked within the novel. I agree with Pam – I liked that Teddy was close to Chandler’s age – not some 25 year old kid. She was a woman, although she retained a lot of youth, which can be very alluring.
How about Brad Pitt for Chandler, that is the picture I had in my head while I was reading. Brad and Jen how funny would that be?