Perfect for Book Clubs, The Burning Side is a compelling, relatable, and reflective complicated family drama.
Are you looking for your next great book club selection?
Are you a book club host in charge of discussion questions?
Check out this book club kit for The Burning Side.
I have noticed that visitors frequently arrive at this website as a result of searching for book club discussion questions. Occasionally, I will address certain discussion possibilities for book clubs in my reviews, but I have not created specific posts that book club members could use as a resource. Thus, a new feature is born: Book Club Kits. I’m grateful to Jo @ JoLindsdell for the inspiration and encouragement and for modeling what this post might look like. (Jo has several book club kits to check out!)
Book Club Kits will be posted in the feed as I create them but will live under a Menu Tab. This is the SEVENTH but not the last! I envision maybe four per year (one per quarter) and each one will be one of my five-star reads.
Let me know what you think! Does a Book Club Kit interest you?
Previous Book Club Kits: West With Giraffes, Go as a River, James, The Boys of Riverside (nonfiction), The Correspondent, and Theo of Golden.
***Reading beyond this point will reveal SPOILERS.***
Book Club Kit: The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
**This post contains SPOILERS**
Book Information:
Genre: Literary Fiction
Categories: Complicated Family Drama, Multigenerational, Marriage/Divorce, Alzheimer’s
Setting: Contemporary, Texas (USA)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: May 19, 2026
ISBN-13 : 978-1668085035
ISBN-10: 1668085011
ASIN : B0FXHSD7QB
Number of Pages: 336
Purchase Link
Content Consideration (TW): house fire, filing for divorce, infidelity temptations, abandonment, Alzheimer’s
Age: Adult
My Reading Experience: The Burning Side checks all my boxes for a five-star read. The story is beautifully written, compelling, and relatable. This is not dysfunctional family drama. April and Leo are devoted parents and likable characters. The story is page-turning from the first line.
First Line: “The night their house goes up in flames, April stumbles out the front door with her baby in one arm and a book in the other.”
I’m certain that The Burning Side will be on my best-of-year list for 2026–and may be #1. A solid 5-Star read. My full review is here.
Awards/Recognition
saving space for more…
My Summary of The Burning Side
The Burning Side is the story of marriage and family. The story opens with Leo, April, and their two young children escaping a house fire in the middle of the night. They move in with April’s parents. On the night of the fire, Leo tells April he wants a divorce. The House is not the only thing burning to the ground. Can Leo and April save their marriage? Can the house (and the marriage) be rebuilt?
About the Author of The Burning Side, Sarah Damoff
Sarah Damoff is the author of the debut novel, THE BRIGHT YEARS, published by Simon & Schuster on April 22, 2025. It was a national bestseller; a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist; Southern Literary Review Book of the Year; and it is being translated into fourteen languages. Her writing has appeared in Oprah Daily, Porter House Review, Ruminate Magazine, and Open Global Rights, among other publications. A Texas native, Sarah lives with her husband and children in Dallas, where she has worked in child welfare. Her second novel, THE BURNING SIDE, is out now.
Author Interviews:
Adding more as they become available…
Reviews:
Adding more as they become available…
Book Flights/Companion Reads:
Little Fires Everywhere also opens with a house fire and is a complicated family drama.
A few of my favorite complicated family dramas are listed in this post.
Book Club Discussion Questions:
Questions contain spoilers because I assume you’ve read the story.
1.
The Burning Side is primarily the story of a marriage. As the house is ablaze, we also wonder if April and Leo’s marriage will burn to the ground, or what parts can be salvaged, or if it can be rebuilt. What do you think about this metaphor of a house fire and the destruction of a marriage? Are you able to point to the author’s use of specific language or vivid imagery that prompted you to think of the house fire as a metaphor for this struggling marriage?
2.
Are you a fan of first lines? The very first line of the story informs us that April carries out a young child and a book. Did that catch your attention? Did you wonder about the book? The title? The emotional significance? The book’s owner? Did you think the book was an odd item to save? If you had to run for your life in the middle of the night, what two items would you save?
First Line: “The night their house goes up in flames, April stumbles out the front door with her baby in one arm and a book in the other.”
3.
Whose fault is it? This story is structured in a “now and then” format with alternating points of view. Do you appreciate knowing April’s and Leo’s backstories, their “meet-cute,” and early years of marriage? When the betrayal happens, was it easy or difficult to take sides? Did your opinion of who is at fault change throughout the story? Are parts of their individual perspectives relatable or understandable?
4.
What advice would you give April and Leo? Salvage what you can and rebuild what the fire destroyed, or tear it all down and walk away? Is there enough love between them to save the marriage or should they divorce and move on? Is there something of value to save?
5.
Abandonment. Our childhood experiences profoundly affect our adult lives. In what ways does the abandonment Leo experienced in childhood affect his marriage and expectations in life? How does this compare with April’s childhood experiences and adult expectations? How do your childhood experiences impact your life today?
6.
Friends or foes? Both April and Leo had colleagues in their lives who were eager to step in or make themselves available during times when April and Leo were the most vulnerable. Do you have opinions about these characters and/or situations? Have you experienced this?
7.
Found Family. The Russos are a “welcoming” family, and April’s family becomes Leo’s “found family.” He experiences unconditional love, safety, and belonging. This makes the idea of divorce even more painful for him. How do April’s parents and her siblings handle the situation? How can you show continued support to someone who is estranged from your family? Have you or someone you’ve known experienced “found family.”
8.
Leo’s strategy for dealing with his childhood trauma is to ignore it, bury it. Think about emotions/events/abuses/slights you have buried from your past….do they continue to affect your present? Would it be helpful to share your past with someone? Do you think sharing the past sheds light on the present?
April’s and Leo’s interaction with Jonathan at the gas station knife fight highlights the differences between April and Leo. April is Jonathan’s tutor, but Leo understands and helps Jonathan in an entirely different way. April observes this, but do you think she truly takes the time to understand Leo and his past? Or has Leo so firmly closed the door on his past that he won’t share it with anyone? Maybe this was the first spark of the fire that was left to smolder?
9.
Do your parents have a perfect marriage? Do your parents have secrets? When adult children return home to live with their parents, secrets are harder to conceal. Is there a benefit to sharing some of the hard parts of your life with your adult children?
10.
Many families are faced with a prognosis of dementia, and in this case, Alzheimer’s. How do you think the author handled this situation? Did you find the emotions or issues relatable? Would you take a test to find out if you had the gene for early-onset Alzheimer’s? How do you view Deb’s decision to move out of the family home?
11.
This is a multi-generational story. Do you appreciate hearing (April’s mom’s) point of view? How did her backstory and her point of view add to the story?
12.
Did the sibling relationships contribute to the story in any significant ways?
13.
Forgiveness, reconciliation, loneliness, and belonging are among the important themes in the story. Which themes were most important and relatable to you? Do you think the author attempted too much, or is this story representative of our complex relationships and complicated lives?
14.
What is your opinion of the title and the cover art? Did your opinion of the cover/title upon finishing the story differ from your first impression?
15.
What do you enjoy most about multigenerational stories? Do you think the multigenerational aspect of this story enhanced the story or detracted from it? What can we learn from another generation?
16.
Readers have varying opinions about epilogues. At times, the story leaves us wanting more if there isn’t one. Other times, the epilogue seems unnecessary. What are your opinions/thoughts on the “Thirty Years Later” section? Did it enhance the story or detract from it? Were you anticipating the plot twist? What purpose do “Earlier” reflections serve?
“It is 1988 or2013 or 2031, and they are members of a family, flowers on a vine.”
17.
How has reading The Burning Side impacted your life? Your marriage? Your family relationships? What aspect of this story will you remember for years to come?
18.
Share a favorite quote or passage.
19.
Making personal connections enhances the reading experience. Did you make connections with the story that are important and meaningful to you?
20.
If you were to recommend The Burning Side to a friend or fellow reader, what superlative would you use to describe the book or your reading experience?
Quotes:
Epigraph: “There are a hundred paths through the world that are easier than loving. But who wants easier? ~ Mary Oliver
Chapter 3: “The Russos don’t entertain, they welcome.” (Leo)
Chapter 7: “The smell of smoke enters the house like a new member of the family.”
Chapter 8: “I vividly remember my first visits to the Russo home, the fun and loudness and love. Seeing Deb and Billy made me wonder if I had ever seen real love before. I decided I had not–not like this, not up close. And it didn’t feel like violins or evergreens or fireworks. It felt like something better: it felt like safety. (Leo)
Chapter 9: “I will bury my former self and be relieved to do so. Here lies a lonely child. He’s in a better place now.” (Leo)
“I lived every day in the shadowy dread that they too would send me away.” (Leo)
“I shiver at the trill of my Rs on her tongue. The shared name is electric, the oneness it represents. The promise that I will no longer be alone.” (Leo)Chapter 10: This is how we remain, stone-still and draped in lilacs, two pillars of a ruined temple.” (April)
Chapter 12: “This sickness [dementia] is a hundred tiny deaths, so when is the right time to grieve?” (Deb)
“I learn what a profound generosity it can be to share lonelinesses.” (Deb)Chapter 15: “The question of belonging is a real one.” (Leo)
Chapter 23: “Love cannot be reversed, cannot be erased, maybe cannot even be a mistake. It can end–and it does–but it is never undone.” (Leo)
Chapter 32: “Even though I lit the fuse, Leo helped build the bomb.” (April)
Chapter 33: “Of all the ways this woman [April’s mom] could break my heart, I’d prefer misdirected anger to her relentless love.” (Leo)
Chapter 34: “Life is a series of wild unknowns, and the past will always leave marks.” (Deb)
Chapter 45: “There is something sacred on both sides of shared pain.” (Deb)
Chapter 50: “We live in homes until we leave them, and then they live in us.” (Leo)
Chapter 51: ” Marriage is a carousel for those who can stomach the cycles of it, orbiting an axis of children and money, of fear and brute determination. And–in some cases–of love. It’s for those who can survive coming back around to the starting place to discover that it has been subtly but irrevocably changed. We are right where we started, but we are not the same as we were.” (April)
A Themed Book Club Party
Meal Ideas: One of Deb’s specialties and a family favorite is chicken pot pie. Billy loves to grill. April is making pasta the night of the fire. So many meal, dessert, and snack possibilities in the story!
Here’s a recipe for Chicken Pot Pie from The Pioneer Woman.
Themed Snacks
Decorated sugar cookies are always a hit. Or use them as favors.
Here’s a cute cookie cutter.
Extras
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Donations are welcome and appreciated!
QOTD:
Have you read The Burning Side, or would you consider it for your book club?
Do you find this book club kit helpful?
Let me know if you end up using it for your book club and how it goes.
ICYMI: How to start a book club.
Happy Reading Book Buddies!
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes
“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text
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You have put so much work into this Carol, I hope that book clubs take note and appreciate what you have compiled.
Thank you for noticing and your kind words! 🌷