57 pages • 1 hour read
Jess LoureyThe Quarry Girls: A Thriller
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A 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
How does The Quarry Girls address the question of whether bad men are born or made?
How would the narrative change if the characters lived in a bigger city? How does a small town enhance the plot and main conflict?
Examine the relationships between mothers and daughters in the narrative. What factors contribute to the fractured relationships that Maureen and Heather have with their mothers? How does this influence Heather and Junie’s relationship?
What are the key messages in The Quarry Girls? How do these messages apply to the current cultural climate in the United States?
Resilience is a key theme throughout the narrative. How do characters like Maureen and Brenda display resilience? What about Constance and Gloria?
How does Claude compare to the other men in the novel? Why is he so different? Support your answer with examples from the text.
This study guide introduces the concept of the “final girl” in thriller genres. How are Heather and Beth final girls? What about Junie? Does the novel replicate the trope or subvert it?
Heather gets angry with her father for expecting her to comfort him after Brenda dies, but her mother asks a lot of her, too. Why does Heather rarely, if ever, show anger toward her mother? What gendered dynamics are at play in Heather’s relationships with her parents?
Lourey uses historical accuracy to build the world her fictional characters inhabit. How does this decision impact the suspense of the narrative? How does it influence its key messages about a society that keeps its secrets? What does this say about the United States in the 1970s?
