The Lying Game

Entertainment Weekly praised The Lying Game as “A riveting, atmospheric thriller.” What literary elements does Ware use to create and build tension in the novel? Support your answer.

When do you think it is appropriate to lie? To protect your friends? To protect a shared secret? To protect yourself? To lie to someone about loving them? Consider Isa’s situation. Do you agree with her reasons for lying? Do you think she needs to lie as much as she does? Why or why not?

Consider the way Ware divides The Lying Game into five titled sections, each based on a rule from the girls’ game. What is the effect of these titles? How does this division focus the reader’s attention? How do the girls follow, or break, their own rules? How does this affect their relationship?

Luc and Owen both suggest that the women run to Kate like dogs to a whistle when they hurry to respond to Kate’s “I need you” text and call. Why do Luc and Owen feel this way? Why do you think the women react so quickly to Kate’s request? She, and the other women, put Kate’s needs above their other relationships and obligations. Why? Are they right to do so?

Consider Freya’s role in the novel. How does Freya affect Isa’s behavior? What does Freya represent to Isa? Is Isa a good mother? Why or why not? Support your answer.

Kate toasts her 15-year-old friends, saying, “May we never grow old” (56), and Thea offers the same toast when they reunite 17 years later. At 15, Isa gladly drinks to the toast. Now that she is an adult, she does not agree with the sentiment. Why not? How has Isa changed since the girls were at Salten?

Fathers play a quieter, but important role in The Lying Game. Consider Owen, Ambrose, Isa’s father, and Luc’s ideas of fatherhood. Compare and contrast the men’s beliefs and approaches to fatherhood. How are they similar? How are they different? What does Isa value in a father, for both herself and Freya? Do her views change over time?

Isa lies to Owen throughout their 10-year relationship because she believes what happened in her past was not her secret to share. Do you agree? What else is Isa lying to Owen about? How does Isa react when Owen confronts her about her lies? How does Isa view her relationship with Owen?