Ingrid Anders

Ingrid Anders enjoys participating in book club discussions. Notify her here if your book club is reading, or would like to read, Earth to Kat Vespucci.  

• The first line of the novel is, “Unfortunately, it is love at first sight.” How does this line set the tone for the rest of the novel?
• What characteristics of the Europeans that Kat meets in Berlin contrast most sharply with the Americans in the story? Which of these characteristics does Kat take on herself by the end of the story?
• The novel is teeming with characters, both major and minor. Which character would you most like to meet, and in what context?
• Ingrid Anders has said that she views the city of Berlin as a character in the novel. What are the characteristics of Berlin in the story, and what is Kat’s relationship with the city?
• The story is fiction, but there are many true historical details woven in. How did you feel about the intertwining of fact and fiction, for example, the fictional story of Pete’s father’s escape from East Berlin up against the true story of Peter Fechter’s failed escape attempt? Was it sometimes difficult to tell the real from the imagined?
• One plot line running through the novel is Kat’s “search” for her lost Uncle Otto. What does this plot line bring to the story? What does it reveal about Kat, her family history, and Germany’s history?
• The author employs humor to tell a fun and entertaining story. What deeper messages emerge from behind the humor?
• Was the story’s ending satisfying for you? Was it predictable or were you surprised? Did it neatly wrap up the story or did it feel contrived?