47 pages • 1 hour read
Breanne RandallThe Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Who or what would you describe as the most antagonistic force in the novel? What textual evidence supports this, and how does it affect Sadie in particular?
Whereas the majority of the interludes are recipes for food or drink items, the novel also includes two recipes for household products: a Healing Salve in Interlude 9 and Harvest Soap for Luck in Interlude 10. What is the significance of these recipes in relation to the tone of the section of the novel in which they appear?
Do birds function as a symbol or motif in the novel? What is their significance to the novel’s tone and themes?
The novel is primarily set in the Revelare family home and A Peach in Thyme café. How do the home and café settings differ? How are they similar?
How does the novel address the theme of mothers and daughters? How does the relationship between Sadie and Gigi differ from that between Sadie and Florence?
Do clocks function as a symbol or motif in the novel? How does Randall’s use of anthropomorphism regarding the grandfather clock relate to the novel’s representation of time?
Sadie and Gigi attend church several times, and Sadie reads Psalm 23 as Gigi is dying. Do Christian beliefs relate to the themes of the novel? What textual evidence supports this?
Other than Sadie, which character undergoes the most change in the novel? What textual evidence supports this?
How is mental healthcare represented throughout the novel? How does this relate to the novel’s genre and themes?
