The Every Girl Book Club: Wife 22 // week four

Jul 30, 2012

The Every Girl Book Club: Wife 22 // week four

It’s the fourth and final week of the Random House Reader’s Circle for The Everygirl. We’ve enjoyed hearing your feelings, reactions and thoughts to Melanie Gideon’s Wife 22. Now that we’ve all finished the book, any topic is up for discussion. No need to worry about spoilers!

We’ve posted some questions below, but feel free to throw your own thoughts, questions, and opinions out there. And remember that our commenting programming allows you to reply directly to one another’s comments and get e-mail alerts when new comments are posted, allowing everyone to engage in conversation. That way, time zone and location is not a concern, and the conversation can continue all week!

Discussion Questions:

Alice and William finally check out Zoe’s Twitter account, Ho-Girl, and create a fake handle to confront her. What did you think about how this situation played out? How did this experience affect Alice, William, and Zoe’s relationships with each other?

Why do you think William tells Alice to let Zoe “come to her” after the Twitter incident? Do you think that was good advice?

Social media plays a significant role throughout the entire story. How did this affect your ability to relate to Alice’s relationships with Researcher 101, William, her children, and her friends? What parallels did you find between Alice’s use of social media and your own use?

What were your reactions when Alice found out she had been fired from her job? Was it a blessing in disguise?

We were surprised when William’s old flame, Helen, resurfaced in the story after posting about a job opening on Facebook. How did you feel when Alice decided to email Helen? Do you think Alice should have told William about her correspondence with her?

Now for the question we’ve all been waiting to discuss! How did you feel when Alice found out William was Researcher 101? Were you completely surprised or did you see it coming? If you were Alice would you have reacted in the same way?

Alice receives an envelope from her father containing her lost engagement ring. How did you feel when Alice got her ring back? What was symbolic about the timing of receiving the ring and finding out William was Researcher 101?

Let’s talk about the final scene at Nedra and Kate’s celebratory dinner. Alice confronts William about being Researcher 101, and he explains why he did it. What were your thoughts about William’s reasoning for inventing Researcher 101? How did you feel when William proposed to Alice with her lost engagement ring?

We want to know your overall feelings about the book. What was your favorite part? Were you happy with how the story ended?

Join Us for the Book Club Webcast Meeting:
We are hosting a formal book club webcast meeting tomorrow night at 9:30 PM est! The live chat conference will include a video feed with the author, Melanie Gideon, Everygirl editors Danielle Moss and Alaina Kaczmarski, the Everygirl team, and a Random House representative, as well as live video questions from readers! We will post a link and further information tomorrow. Join us for an opportunity to video chat with Melanie Gideon! We hope to see you there.

clarissa fidler

http://twitter.com/DreamGreenDIY Carrie Waller

I LOVED the book! It was sweet, funny, REAL and honest. Reading this final section was particularly fun as we saw Alice and William bond over little things and become close again. I laughed out loud throughout the Ho-Girl twitter exchange, teared up when Alice was reunited with her lost engagement ring, and mentally cheered for the couple after everything came out in the open. Speaking of, I was dumbfounded to see that my wild suspicion was right that Researcher 101 was William. I couldn’t read fast enough as Alice started putting the clues together that they were one in the same…

This book has taught me to curb my social media habits when with family. It’s just not worth losing out on REAL life. It also has encouraged me to be more open with my hubby. It’s only been three months for us, but communication is SO important, even as newlyweds. I’ve been debating exchanging the questions from the questionnaire with my husband just to get the stories and thoughts flowing. Think it could be fun!

Overall, I thought it was an excellent read and can’t wait to dive into the next book in this club – So much fun! =)

http://www.agirlaheart.com/ Melanie Stone

agreed! biggest thing i got from wife 22 was to lay off on the social media (while with other people of course)

http://livingmylifeasiknowit.wordpress.com/ Christina Tamm

YAY! Glad we are all done with the book now. I wish there was a second one. I had such a hard time putting the book down and found myself crying, laughing, heating up and falling in love while reading this book.

Can’t wait to talk about it all tomorrow!

http://twitter.com/CaitPBrown Caitlin Brown

Me TOOO. I was so so sad when it was over. I wish there was a sequel! It was the first book I’ve really “gotten into” in a while.

Nora O’malley

I absolutely loved the book. I finished by week 2 because I couldn’t put it down. When her dad gave her the engagement ring that she “lost” was a moment I couldn’t believe. It was a great ending to the story. I agree with Carrie, that the Ho-Girl exchange was just hilarious. Towards the end I started to suspect that William could be Researcher 101 and I was very happy it was him. I am glad things worked out for them.
I also agree with Carrie. I do think I will try to step away from social media a little more. I like to leave my phone on silent in my nightstand over the weekend just to take a break. I think I may do that in the evening as well.

Great book! Excited for the next book club read!
Colettej222

Loved the book and how it made me question the role of communication in marriage, social media, employment, and fulfillment.

I started to suspect William was researcher 101- am surprised he encouraged her flirting. Was he testing her?

jessa r.

I, too, couldn’t understand that part – - why wasn’t he upset when he realized that she was developing feelings for 101?
http://www.farandfaraway.com/ Megan

Yeah, I thought that was kind of odd, too. If I was emailing my husband under a false identity and he started talking about leaving the real me for who he thought was someone else, I would be very upset.

http://lamiavitablog.com/ Nicole Marie

It made me a little sick to my stomach how much she was on facebook and not being with her family, focusing on her marriage and being with her friends. definitely made me more aware of how often i check my social media.

also, i was surprised her husband wasn’t upset about her basically having an emotional affair with researcher 101, and saying she was going to leave her husband, etc.
http://www.farandfaraway.com/ Megan Leader

I really loved the book! I started questioning whether William was Researcher 101 when he wasn’t able to meet her for coffee, but the interaction the next day at the Farmer’s Market, when Alice and Researcher 101 were actively conversing while William was asking Alice for cash, threw me off again.

I think it ended really well, and it was nice to see a marriage that had gotten so far off track become restored. I think Alice’s father sending the ring was such a nice touch.