One Step Behind

Readers Guide
One Step Behind by Lauren North
Discussion Questions

1. What were your first impressions of Jenna and Sophie? Did these change over the course of the novel?

2. Early in the story, Jenna is faced with an ethical dilemma when she meets her stalker for the first time. Did you sympathize with her point of view? What decision would you make in that situation?

3. What kind of mother is Jenna? Do you think this changed as the story progressed? Are mothers judged differently or more harshly than fathers?

4. In Jenna’s chapters, she talks to her stalker as though telling the story to him. Why do you think the author chose to write the novel in this way? Did you like it?

5. Which character did you relate to the most, and why? Did this change at any point in the novel?

6. The story is set during a heat wave. How big a part do you think this played in the novel? Would the novel have felt the same if it hadn’t been as hot?

7. How does Lauren North create a sense of tension and unease in One Step Behind?

8. What did you think of Matthew as a young boy? Did your opinion of his character change as the novel progressed?

9. What do you think the future holds for Jenna and Stuart?