Why is the Edwards Academy honor code so important? How does it affect the ways in which students and faculty interact and behave with each other? How does it affect the ways in which students and faculty interact and behave with people outside of Edwards?
As the novel progresses, Sam and Gracie find themselves in complicated situations facing difficult decisions. Discuss some decisions the two characters make, such as leaving school or contacting Harper. Which decisions would you classify as “right” or “wrong” and why?
What does Sam want to do for a career? Why, and who does she specifically want to help? How does this play out in the second half of the book?
What does the Isabel House hazing entail? Would Hayden consider it hazing? Why or why not? Why do you think Sam and Gracie have a tacit agreement to never talk about it?
Hayden talks about the need to “get it.” What does Sam come to realize “getting it” means, and how does it relate to the honor code?
What roles do students like Hayden, Mallory, and Waldo, who are aware of Scully’s pattern of illegal behavior, play in Scully’s assaults? Would you consider them partially responsible for what happens? Why or why not?
Sam wonders, “Did I do something really catastrophically stupid by taking this on?” and “Is she right, that it’s foolish for me to be talking to Harper? Was the article a bad idea?” How did you originally interpret these statements, and how does your comprehension of them change at the end of the novel?
Why does Harper persevere in writing the articles? How could she potentially benefit from them?
Why does Gracie drop out of Edwards Academy? Does she get what she wants by dropping out?
Compare and contrast how Gracie’s and Sam’s parents react to what their daughters tell them. How do Gracie and Sam feel and what do they do after talking with their parents?
When Scully assaults girls, he asks, “Isn’t this what you wanted?” What does this suggest about what Scully thinks of his behavior? Do you agree with Sam when she says, “He’ll never admit to anything, because he doesn’t believe he’s done anything wrong”?
What happens to Sam’s and Gracie’s friendship following the rape, and why do you think it happens?
Do you think that what Gracie calls Sam’s “revenge quest” is more about punishing Scully, fighting for Gracie, or something else? Which of Sam’s actions do you think are or are not justified?
What effect does the Tumblr blog have with the main narrative of the story? Could the novel have made sense without it? How does your interpretation of the blog change in the last chapters of Honor Code?
How does the honor code influence the events of Honor Code? What are some other possible titles of the book?
About the Author
Kiersi Burkhart grew up a cowgirl in Colorado and can still run a mean barrel race. At sixteen, she attended a small private college in Oregon that helped to inspire Edwards Academy. Like most women she grew up amid stories of abuse, but where victims are forced into silence. Honor Code is her response to that silence—and to the insular communities that help to protect abusers and deprive victims of their voices. Now she lives and works as a freelance writer in Casper, Wyoming. While not writing and running her own business, she finds time to advocate for social justice. Kiersi has a deep and abiding love of Pokemon, her partner, and her dog Baby. She’s also got a dragon tattoo.
Honor Code
Cover
Title Page
Advance Praise
Copyright Information
Dedication
Act One
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Act Two
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Act Three
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Acknowledgments
Topics for Discussion
About the Author
Back Cover
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