Stand Your Ground: A Novel (37 page)

1. Tyrone’s mother responds to Janice’s hesitation about allying with the Brown Guardians with,
“Well, sometimes violence is what you need. Sometimes violence is the only language that white folks understand.”
Discuss Janice’s feelings about the vigilante group versus Tyrone’s opinion. What are the reasons for their respective views? Who would you side with?

2. In the aftermath of Marquis’s death, Tyrone begins spending nights with his brother, Raj, away from Janice. Discuss how their physical separation mirrors their growing emotional distance.

3. When Janice sees Wyatt Spencer’s brother, Wally, on television defending Wyatt’s actions in the name of Stand Your Ground, she dons mourning clothes and heads to the courthouse, saying she
“[wants] America to see [her] in [her] black.”
Why is this a major turning point for Janice? How does it affect Janice and Tyrone’s relationship?

4. Discuss Meredith Spencer’s internal conflict, which pits her loyalty to her husband against the truth she witnessed that night and the deep knowledge she has about her husband’s character. How do her feelings evolve and shift throughout the trial, especially when she meets Janice Johnson?

5. Despite coming from vastly different backgrounds, Meredith and Janice are both women of faith. How does their relationship with God differ? Consider Janice’s affair with her pastor and Meredith telling Janice that she is in her prayers.

6. Raj discovers Janice with Caleb after the case is announced to be a mistrial. Why does he decide not to tell Tyrone about her perceived infidelity? How has Raj changed in Janice’s eyes?

7. In chapter 32, Janice says,
“When it came to humans, the ransom for sins was never fully paid.”
What does she mean by this? Is she referencing Wyatt Spencer, speaking of her own circumstances, or both?

8. Janice undergoes another transformation as she lets her voice be heard in front of the congregation in chapter 35. Why does she begin by saying that the shooting was not God’s will? The chapter concludes with Janice observing that,
“Where I’d come from and where I was now with Tyrone standing by my side—this was God’s will.”
What is “this”? What is the differentiation she is trying to make?

9. Go around the room and share your reactions to the last chapter. Did you find yourself sympathizing with Wyatt as you
became privy to his perspective? How did you feel about his fate?

10. 
Stand Your Ground
is extremely relevant to the state of our country at this time. How do you feel about the way Marquis’s trial unfolded compared to the way real-life Stand Your Ground trials have been portrayed in American media?

11. How do you think Marquis Johnson will live on, not only in his hometown of Philadelphia, but in the hearts of his family and that of Meredith Spencer?

12. Victoria Christopher Murray weaves together the perspectives of Janice Johnson, Meredith Spencer, and Wyatt Spencer. If you could hear the internal narrative of another central character in
Stand Your Ground,
who would you choose and why?

1. Janice mentions that Twitter is her main source of news in the aftermath of Marquis’s shooting. Search for mentions of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice on Twitter. How are reactions to their stories rippling in our collective consciousness?

2. Take some time at the beginning or at the end of your book club meeting to check in with your fellow readers. Has anyone in your group ever feared for their child the way that Janice and Tyrone did? What emotions did you experience after reading the traumatic events described in the book?

3. Visit
Change.org
and sign the petition “2 Million Want Justice for Trayvon,” or donate to the Trayvon Martin Foundation at
trayvonmartinfoundation.org
. Discuss how your voice can effect change in our world.

ORDER YOUR COPIES TODAY!