The Guest List

Aoife gets away with murder at the end of the novel. How do you think we’re supposed to feel about this as readers? Is there a sense of resolution in this ending? What is left unresolved? Consider these points as you reflect on the text to answer the question:

• What is the role of justice within this novel?
• How does Hannah’s desire to have killed Will affect our sense of resolution?
• How does Johnno’s desire to atone for Darcey’s death play into this?

Teaching Suggestion: Encourage students to think about how the characters are as they leave the Folly and how they are different from who they were before arriving. Haunting as a Manifestation of the Past is also critical, as now another traumatic event has occurred. Is it a resolution to the events leading up to and concluding with Darcey’s death? Or is this now something that will haunt everyone going forward?

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who struggle to organize their thoughts may construct a chart in which they compare and contrast characters at the beginning and end of the novel in order to visualize how they’ve changed over the course of the text.