Hollow Bones Book Club Questions
by Jodi Picoult
These questions assume everyone has finished the book and contain spoilers, including the ending.
Hollow Bones is rich with moral gray areas, family secrets, and questions about motherhood, memory, and identity. Jodi Picoult gives readers several flawed people to argue over, so even a small group will find plenty to disagree about.
Use these questions as a flexible guide rather than a checklist. Pick a few that spark interest, let everyone answer, and follow the conversation where it goes. The goal is not to settle every issue but to notice what each character's choices make you feel.
Characters, Motherhood, and Choices
- 1.After learning that her presumed-dead mother Eloise is alive as Georgia Gilligan, Molly tells Tabs she would give anything for the chance to be angry at her own dead father, then later texts Georgia. How do Molly's conflicting impulses—anger, curiosity, and longing—drive her decisions after the baby shower revelation?
- 2.Evie confesses at Christmas that Eloise had postpartum psychosis, tried to drown Molly, and had a psychiatrist appointment at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Later Jesse discovers the master bathroom water had been cut off and confronts Evie, who admits she exaggerated the drowning story. Did Evie's lie protect Molly or betray her, and why do you think she kept it for so long?
- 3.Georgia/Eloise adores her granddaughter Adie and becomes her nanny, but she also admits she may have been stalking Molly a little before the baby shower. Where is the line between maternal protection and intrusion in Georgia's actions after she returns to Rhode Island?
- 4.Kate tells Molly that motherhood is knowing you'd trade your life for someone if it meant they'd still be here. How does that statement illuminate Eloise's decision to leave Molly, Molly's fear of becoming like her mother, and Molly's eventual return to work while caring for Adie?
- 5.Molly first tells Georgia she doesn't know if she can forgive her, then later asks her not to go and tells her she didn't try to kill her after they discuss the tub incident. What events or conversations most change Molly's mind about her mother, and did you find her change believable?
Mental Illness, Faith, and Narrative
- 6.The novel ties Eloise's mental illness to religious trauma: her father's sermons, the voice telling her to send Molly to Jesus, and her belief that Satan lied to her. How does Eloise's Evangelical upbringing explain—or fail to explain—her postpartum psychosis and her decision to flee?
- 7.Molly goes on 60 Minutes with Adelaide McCann to reveal Georgia's undiagnosed postpartum psychosis and defend her mother, after asking Dr. Mantillard for current statistics. Did Molly make the right choice to make her mother's diagnosis public? How does this connect to the theme that public health fails when the public loses trust?
- 8.The novel uses multiple narrators—Molly, Eloise/Georgia, and Jesse—to tell the story. How does hearing Eloise's voice in chapters like 'Chapter 2: Eloise' and 'Chapter 4: Eloise' affect your sympathy for her, especially when she believes Satan is speaking to her and nearly harms Molly?
Lies, Guilt, and Family Secrets
- 9.Jesse's job as a polygraph examiner leads him to say everyone lies, and he detects Ravi Banneker's deception about the warehouse fire. How does his professional understanding of lies shape the way he handles Evie's confession and his own decision to investigate the leaking shower before telling Molly?
- 10.Adam tells Jesse that he survived 9/11 because he stopped at an airport lounge to shower, and later tells Eloise that their marriage was declared void ab initio. How do these revelations about Adam's survival guilt and legal status reshape your understanding of his relationships with Eloise and Evie?
- 11.Georgia visits her mother Euphemia Owens in a dementia facility, where Euphemia calls her Eloise and mentions Adie. How does this visit, along with learning from her father's obituary that he omitted her, affect Georgia's ability to forgive her family and reconnect with Molly?
Grief, Art, and the Ending
- 12.Eloise/Georgia chooses to disappear after 9/11, watching her own memorial from behind an elm and seeing Adam cry in Evie's arms before deciding Molly is safe without her. Do you agree with her choice to let Molly believe she was dead? Consider that she later returns to prevent Molly from suffering the same postpartum psychosis.
- 13.At the 9/11 Memorial, Molly points to Eloise Ambrose's name on the South Pool and tells Georgia she belongs there, then leads her to the Survivor Tree. Why is this moment a turning point for Georgia, who earlier confesses she feels dirty for having started over after the tragedy?
- 14.Florence shows Georgia the spirit line in her weaving—an intentional mistake so the artist's spirit isn't trapped—and says nothing is meant to be perfect. How does this idea contrast with Eloise's father's demand for purity and with Eloise's own mosaics, including 'Know Thyself' and the 'Hollow Bones' phoenix?
- 15.The ending shows Molly planning to name her unborn daughter Eloise, while Eloise/Georgia has survived the car accident and lays flowers at the Survivor Tree. Does the epilogue's note that 'the rip cord to tragedy is hope' and that love 'can't be destroyed' feel earned after all the losses in the novel? Why or why not?