Hello Stranger Book Club Kit
Hello Stranger by Katherine Center is the official January 2025 pick for the Peanut Blossom Book Club for Recovering Readers.
Welcome to 2025! I am so excited to introduce the first book pick of our new reading list.
When I finished Hello Stranger last summer, I had tears in my eyes. Not because the book was sad and not because the ending was emotional but because of the AUTHOR’S NOTE.
If I could make just one recommendation to you this year, it would be for you to open up your copy of Hello Stranger and flip straight to the message from Katherine Center at the back of the book. Read that first, then enjoy your first lighthearted book of the year.
She brilliantly summarizes my entire motivation behind the Peanut Blossom Book Club for Recovering Readers. We read for joy and for hope and her note made me feel seen and oh-so-validated. I can’t think of a better way to start the year.
Reading her approach to writing books has made me a fan for life.
Want to get my full thoughts on the book? Check out my Hello Stranger book review here.
P.S. Just joining us? Don’t miss the full list of 2025 book club picks.
Peanut Blossom Book Club
This book club pick is one of the awesome books from our eleventh year of book club.
We’re still going strong! Want to join us?
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What is Hello Stranger About?
“Love may be blind. But what if . . . what you see isn’t what you get?
It’s all starting to come together for struggling artist Sadie Montgomery. She was just named a finalist in the national portrait competition of her dreams. But when she winds up with a rare, but real, condition where human faces look like jumbled puzzle pieces . . . it is, to say the least, not good.
With only a few weeks to paint the best portrait of her entire life, Sadie will do anything to reverse her condition and get back to work, but it’s anyone’s guess when (or even if) that’ll happen.
Enter her dog’s charming veterinarian (who may or may not be Sadie’s daydream fiancé), and her bowling-jacket-wearing, Vespa-riding neighbor (who she can’t seem to stay away from)—both vying for her attention and adding to the chaos.
It’s a lot, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Because the truth is, seeing the world differently has its upsides. And love has an undeniable way of giving us courage. And the best way of looking is always, always with the heart.”
Hello Stranger Discussion Questions
I believe the best book club questions to spark a lively discussion in your group help readers make personal connections to the story.
You can read about how to write the best book club questions on your own here, but hopefully these will get you started!
Question 1:
Did you read the Author’s Note at the back of the book? Do you agree with Katherine Center that we should “read for joy”? What is your motivation for reading?
Question 2:
How well do you recognize faces and remember names? Had you heard of face blindness before this?
Question 3:
Sadie falls in love without seeing faces. Do you think this would be easy or difficult for you to do? How important are looks to you?
Question 4:
Parker’s behavior towards Sadie has been horrible for years but in the end, Sadie is able to forgive her. Would you be able to do the same? Was this a believable plot point for you?
Question 5:
Did you pick up on the clues about the mixed up identity or did that come as a surprise for you?
Question 6:
If you were Sadie, who would you have picked — Dr. Addison or Joe?
Book Club Party Menu
I think it is so fun to plan your book club dinner menu or dessert list based on the theme of the book.
There are a few book club dinner-friendly dishes mentioned throughout the story, here are a few I’d choose if I were hosting the party.
Sadie loves to feed her dog funny foods like croissants, Thai food, and bolognese. Any one of these could be a great starting point for your dinner menu but I almost always lean towards Italian dishes.
There’s also a pivotal scene at a coffee shop where her high school friend is doused in coffee.
You could plan a coffeeshop vibe by setting up a homemade coffee bar and easy pastries like my 2-ingredient chocolate croissants or a platter of cinnamon streusel muffins.
You Might Also Enjoy
If you loved Hello, Stranger you might also like:
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