READERS GUIDE
Reader’s GuideHow to Hide in Plain Sight by Emma Noyes
Discussion Questions:
1. The book’s title, How to Hide in Plain Sight, is a reference to how mental health struggles can be invisible to others. What are the hidden battles the characters in this book fight? Do you also have burdens that aren’t visible to outsiders?
2. Eliot’s family comes across as both very close and isolated from one another at the same time. Discuss the elements that unite them and separate them as a family.
3. Eliot and Manuel’s friendship started from a one-sided effort, but eventually became a crucial connection for both of them. Do you have important relationships that started off similarly?
4. Why do you think Eliot was so drawn to Manny as a child?
5. Eliot’s father, Speedy, has no discernable medical cause for his paralysis. In contrast, Eliot has no physical manifestation of her medical diagnosis. Discuss the contrast of their situations and what that could mean for the characters.
6. Cradle Island is a touchstone point for Eliot’s family. Do you also have a place that has a lot of emotional importance to your family? Where is it?
7. The end of the novel has a big revelation regarding the ashes of Eliot’s late brother. What do you think the significance is behind her actions as a child?
8. Eliot is able to finally be honest about her struggles with her family and Manny by the end of the novel. How do you think this will impact her relationships with them, and how do you picture her life after the book ends?
