The Girl on the Train, Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Girl on the Train.

How was your reading experience this week? Are you hooked on the story? I definitely felt like I wanted to find out the end of the book as soon as I started reading. I have a hard time being patient while reading books like these! I just want to get to the bottom of the mystery. Do you find yourself wanting to speed read through thrilling books to find out what happens?

What did you think of the two little prologue pieces before the first chapter? They are pretty mysterious and seem to point towards violence. What did you make of those little paragraphs? 

From the very beginning of the book, we understand that Rachel is not a very reliable character, but she's still the main character and the one through which most of the information of the book is being conveyed. What do you think of books with unreliable narrators? Have you ever read another book with a narrator like Rachel? I find myself getting frustrated with characters like Rachel because I just want them to stop doing so many foolish things. Did you feel that way when you read about some of the things that Rachel was doing? I could not believe that she ended up emailing and deciding to meet Scott by the end of the section. And, I hated how she kept calling Tom. It's just so hard to read about a character that is falling apart. What did you think Rachel in this first section? 

We also have chapters from the perspective of Megan. Did you have a hard time reading chapters with points of view from different characters? Did you find yourself enjoying the Megan chapters more than you enjoyed the Rachel ones? Or vice versa? What do you think of Megan? Do you think she is a very likeable character? I think it's hard to read about affairs, so I am having a hard time reading Megan's sections. 

Do you feel like you really know anything about the mystery so far? We know that Megan is missing. We know that Rachel saw Megan kissing someone who wasn't her husband. And, we know that something happened with Rachel the night that Megan went missing. Rachel got really drunk, so she doesn't remember exactly what happened, but we know that Rachel was seen near Megan's house the night of the disappearance, and Rachel has feelings that she was attacked or something under the overpass. What do you think is going on? Does Rachel have anything to do with Megan's disappearance? 

Is anything good going to come of Rachel meeting with Scott? I really couldn't believe that she emailed him. I just think that the meeting will go badly, and I can't imagine that Rachel will learn anything from Scott. 

Are you excited to read the next section? Do you have any idea what might happen in the next couple of chapters? 

Before you go, check out the video below to hear author, Paula Hawkins, talk about writing. 

Thanks for following along this week! I hope to hear your thoughts on this first section in the comments! And, make sure to read through page 215 before joining us next week!