49 pages • 1 hour read
Natalie D. RichardsFive Total Strangers
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2020A 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
Mira focuses on getting to her mother because she believes her mother is distraught. In what ways does Mira have an accurate or inaccurate assessment of her mother? How is Mira’s relationship to her mother developed, and what impact does it have on her choices?
Mira is a high school student who pretends to be older than she is. In contrast, Josh is a dangerous person who pretends to be safe. In this way, the antagonist and protagonist, dramatic foils for each other, both wear masks. How do these characters maintain these masks? What similarities and differences do you see between them? How do they reflect each other, and how do their choices impact the novel?
Class status and wealth, or the lack of them, play a part in this novel. What assumptions and beliefs do the characters carry about wealth and class? Which characters do class and money impact, and how does that affect the other characters and the plot?
The novel is written in the present tense, meaning that all of the action is reported to the reader as Mira experiences it. The more traditional mode for novels is to be written in the past tense, where a narrator reports action that happened in the past. Why do you think Natalie D. Richards made this choice? How does it affect the reader’s experience of time and the unraveling of the mystery?
Richards includes unsigned letters from Mira’s stalker. This gives the novel a more complex point of view, one that does not belong only to Mira in the present moment. Why does Richards include these letters? What is the impact of the letters on the reader’s experience of the overall plot?
The novel utilizes narrative tension to propel the story forward. How does Richards build tension? How do actions, characters, and themes move from being perceived as innocuous or benign to menacing? What is the effect of Mira’s point of view on events the novel encourages readers to view as frightening or safe?
Whom does Mira suspect when she finds the missing items and the letters in her bag? Why? Whom does she turn to for help? Why? How does this misjudgment place Mira in danger?
Kayla has been helping the stalker all along. How does the stalker’s use of Kayla reflect other manipulations the stalker uses to isolate Mira? In retrospect, can you identify moments that hinted to the stalker’s real identity? Give examples.
Unexplored grief is a theme of the novel. Explain how Mira’s grief impacts her actions from the first chapter. Compare and contrast how Mira, her mother, and Kayla respond to grief. How does grief manifest in these characters? How does it influence their actions?
