Prep

Curtis Sittenfeld has written several other novels with women at the center. In The Man of My Dreams (2006), the follow-up to Prep, Hannah Gavener, like Lee, fixates on a man. In Rodham (2020), Sittenfeld’s fictionalized novel about the politician Hillary Rodham Clinton, Clinton searches for an identity and struggles with men. Read one of Sittenfeld’s other books and compare the story to Prep.

There are many other books about elite prep schools/boarding schools/high schools. Pick one—whether it’s Catcher in the Rye or the Gossip Girl books—and put it in dialogue with Prep. How do the books present the schools, the students, the teachers, and the parents?

There are countless movies and TV shows about elite prep schools. Watch one of the films or a few episodes and put it in conversation with Prep. Pay attention to how the visual images complement Lee’s textual images.

Prep takes place in a time before social media and ubiquitous cell phone use, yet the story features many contemporary issues like gender and diversity. How does Lee adhere to contemporary norms about sensitive subjects, and how does she offend contemporary political correctness?

Put yourself in Lee’s place, and tell what you would do if you had the chance to go to an elite boarding school? How would your choices differ from Lee’s decisions? Would you focus more on education or social drama?

Lee isn’t the most reliable narrator. Find moments that expose Lee’s untrustworthiness and discuss how they add or detract from her character.

Setting aside Lee, focus on another character and explain how they contribute to the story. Without Martha, what would happen on the math test? Minus Cross, who would Lee obsess over?

Discuss the structure of the book. How does Sittenfeld order the chapters, and why does she organize them that way? How does each chapter work as a mini-episode, and how do the specific storylines connect to one another?