A reading guide for Rowan Bay

The Rowan Bay novels share a coastline, a handful of familiar streets and an interest in the ways people make a home. Each follows its own central story. Reading in publication order lets you notice the smaller connections as the town grows around you.

Start with The Shape of Leaving

The first book follows Mara’s return to the family house. It introduces the harbour, the threatened lighthouse and some of the neighbours who will cross later pages. It is also a complete story in its own right, so you can begin without committing to a long sequence.

Continue with Where the Light Stays

The second book moves to a coastal hotel in its final winter. Kit arrives as a visitor, which lets us see familiar places with fresh eyes. A character you briefly meet in the first novel may have an entirely different place in this story. That shift in perspective is one of the pleasures of returning.

Bring these questions to the conversation

Which object in Mara’s house carries the most meaning for you? Does that meaning change as you learn more? Think about the difference between the things she inherits and the things she chooses to keep.

The town is divided over the future of the lighthouse. Where does preserving a place become a way of avoiding change? Was there a character whose position you understood even when you disagreed with it?

Finally, consider the title. What shapes does leaving take in this book? A physical journey is only one possibility. You might notice departures from a role, a habit or a version of a family story.

Make the discussion your own

You do not need to answer every question. A good book-club conversation often begins with a scene somebody cannot stop thinking about. Bring that scene, read a few lines aloud and see where the conversation takes you.