Book Club Questions for Buckeye by Patrick Ryan

Buckeye by Patrick Ryan is a novel that you will either like or dislike. It’s a sweeping saga of two families’ lives in a small, midwestern town. It spans the fifty years of the mid twentieth century in America and masterfully connects the events of those turbulent times through the lives of these people.

If you had given us these characters and a few notes about them, we could have laid out the map of this novel, but it was never meant to be a mystery. You have four flawed individuals whose lives intersect, and the story beautifully unfolds from there.

And when this story ended, it took a small piece of our hearts with it.

So here are our book club questions for this Buckeye. We hope they help you dive deeper into the story and maybe even see it from a new angle.

Book Club Questions

1. What is the meaning behind the book’s title, Buckeye?
2. This is a long and sweeping story, mainly focused on the characters Cal, Becky, Margaret, and Felix. Why was it important to the story for us to spend so much time with each character, their upbringings, and the secrets they carried?
3. How did Cal’s disability and his inability to join the war effort in WWII impact him going forward? What became missing in his life?
5. Why were Cal and Becky drawn to each other? Do you feel they are a good match?
6. What did you make of Becky’s medium abilities? Do you believe it was real? If so, why do you feel the author included a ‘supernatural’ element in a grounded story? Or do these abilities actually represent something else?
7. Margaret is an orphan and never had a family. She was cared for by Lydia, the manager of the orphanage, but that relationship still had distance. Let’s talk about how the lack of any familial bond and caring influenced how Margaret approached relationships.
8. Why did she agree to marry Felix after barely knowing him? And why did he decide to propose to Margaret?
9. We learn that Felix is hiding his true sexuality from the outside world. What do you suppose would have happened if he had been more upfront with Margaret before they got married?
10. On the same token, Margaret doesn’t tell anyone she’s an orphan. Why did she keep this a secret?
11. While Felix is away at war, Margaret and Cal meet and eventually embark on an affair. Why did they start the affair, and what did it represent to the two of them?
12. Felix is on a warship, and there he meets and connects with a fellow sailor, Angie, who becomes a pivotal relationship for him. They have an affair, but when the ship is attacked in war, Augie dies. This is the defining relationship for Felix, and he’s never able to fully grieve what happened. Let’s discuss this impact on Felix and how it changed him forever.
13. When Felix comes back after the war, he’s a changed man, depressed and withdrawn. He does sleep with Margaret the night he gets back. Margaret eventually finds out she’s pregnant, and she knows the father could be either Cal or Felix. What were your thoughts as all of this unfolded? Should Margaret have been honest with Felix at the start?
14. Felix aches for Augie, and he turns to Becky to see if she can reach him. He eventually trusts her with the truth of their relationship. Let’s discuss your take on this scene. How was it important for the story later on for the two to develop this trust with each other?
16. Eventually, Cal and Becky’s son, Skip, and Felix and Margaret’s son, Tom, become friends, although the boys have no idea they are brothers. Let’s talk about their friendship and dynamic.
17. It all eventually comes to a head, and Felix learns of Margaret’s affair with Cal, and that Tom is Cal’s son. Felix also reveals his sexuality to Margaret. Both are equally angry for different reasons. They both held important lies from each other. Do you feel that every individual’s anger was justified? Was there any way for the marriage to ever work?
18. Why did Margaret leave Tom and Felix behind? Why didn’t she ever try to see Tom again (before the ending)? What does this say about Margaret as a whole, leaving her child behind, just like her mother did to her?
19. Becky is distraught when she learns the truth and kicks Cal out. She talks with Felix, but he doesn’t want to tell Ben the truth right now. Was this the right decision, or should they have been honest with Ben and Skip when they all learned the truth? How did this generational trauma impact the boys?
20. What eventually brings Cal and Becky back together? What would you have done if you were Becky?
21. Skip is lost as an adult and eventually signs up for the military, and is sent to Vietnam, where he is killed in action. After he died, Ben learns the truth about Cal. Let’s talk about his reaction to the fact that Cal is his father.
22. Ben goes to find Margaret at one point and expects her to live a glamorous life. But when he sees her, Margaret is struggling and looks unhappy. Why did he decide not to confront her?
23. Felix is sick, and Cal tracks down Ben to let him know Felix is running out of time. Why did Ben push Felix away for so long?
24. Margaret finally returns to the town, but it’s too late, and Felix has passed. At his funeral, Ben sees her, and she’s so shaken up that she simply apologizes. As Ben gives her a final hug, she’s unsure of what he said to her. What do you think he said to her? Will they ever see each other again?
25. The story ends with Becky and Cal still together, and their closeness with Ben. What did you think about the ending? What happens next for all the characters?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed book club questions for Buckeye! Here are so more recommendations along with links to book club questions.

Twice by Mitch Albom

Here’s the synopsis –

When he is eight years old, Alfie Logan discovers the magical ability to get a second chance at everything. He can undo any moment and live it again. The one catch: he must accept the consequences of his second try—for better or worse.

He grows up correcting his mistakes and saving himself from adolescent embarrassments. He even takes foolishly dangerous risks, just to see what it’s like to come close to death, before tapping back to safety.

Eventually, Alfie turns his gift to his love life, studying his crushes and going back to make himself more appealing. In time, he falls deeply in love with Gianna, the woman he believes is the one. He seems to find contentment.

But as the years pass, Alfie’s eye begins to wander. Which is when he learns a lone caveat to his power: once he undoes a love, that person can never fall in love with him again. Knowing if he gives into to temptation, he will risk losing what he has with Gianna, Alfie makes a choice that changes his life forever.

The book begins many years later, after an ailing Alfie is arrested for allegedly cheating and winning millions at a casino roulette wheel. As a curious detective interrogates him, he slowly uncovers Alfie’s incredible story, and its most unlikely conclusion.

In Twice, America’s favorite storyteller, Mitch Albom, is at the top of his powers. A love story that is enchanting, probing, and clairvoyant in matters of the heart, Twice will make you think, weep, and overflow with love from beginning to end. And what better way to experience this story than through the delightful audiobook, narrated by Mitch himself.

Burning by Megha Majumdar

If you haven’t read Megha Majumdar’s debut A Burning yet, please – don’t wait. This one hit us right in the chest. It’s set in modern India and follows three characters – Jivan, a Muslim girl from the slums wrongfully accused of terrorism; PT Sir, a teacher desperate for political power; and Lovely, a transgender woman whose warmth and courage could save Jivan’s life.

What we love most about this book is how Majumdar captures the small, impossible choices ordinary people make when the world is stacked against them. It makes one question how justice and ambition can twist together so easily. And you’re left feeling for every single character, even when they make choices you don’t agree with.