This reading group guide for Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

Introduction

Joe-Nathan likes the two parts of his name separate, just like dinner and dessert. Mean Charlie at work sometimes calls him Joe-Nuthin. But Joe is far from nothing. Joe is a good friend, good at his job, good at making things and at following rules, and he is learning how to do lots of things by himself.

Joe’s mother knows there are a million things he isn’t yet prepared for. While she helps to guide him every day, she is also writing notebooks of advice for Joe, of all the things she hasn’t yet told him about life and things he might forget.

By following her advice, Joe’s life is about to be more of a surprise than he expects. Because he’s about to learn that remarkable things can happen when you leave your comfort zone, and that you can do even the hardest things with a little help from your friends.

Topics and Questions for Discussion

1. The novel opens with Janet’s entry about fear from the yellow book of advice before we are introduced to Joe-Nathan and the other characters. How does this set up the story thematically? How does it set up Joe’s character?

2. Time is a guiding force in Joe’s life. Joe depends on routine, and he likes how time moves at the same pace and pushes things along. How does time operate in this novel? Does the novel move at a steady pace? At what points does the pace of the novel slow down? What is the purpose of those slow-motion moments, and how do they make you feel?

3. Between Janet, the blue book, the yellow book, and Friends, Joe has guides and references to make sense of life and the world around him. Do you have a “Janet” in your life? Or do you have a book or piece of media you use as a guide and reference point in your life?

4. Epitaphs fascinate Joe. Considering Joe’s appreciation of structure and direction in his life (for example, the Compass Store being laid out like an actual compass so he can always find his way around the store), how do you think the epitaphs play into that? Do epitaphs help Joe find structure in other parts of his life? What do you see as the purpose of the epitaphs in this novel?

5. Joe is a neurodivergent character with OCD. How does the author make Joe a relatable character even when the reader may not be familiar with neurodivergent thought processes? Are there specific passages, descriptions, or scenes in which you felt you could really understand Joe’s thought process and how he sees the world? How does the author put you in Joe’s shoes?

6. Following the previous question, there are subplots in the novel that Joe does not pick up on at first, but we as readers may see. Consider Pip’s crush on Hugo, or moments when people are mean to Joe and he does not realize. How does the author convey these things to the reader while maintaining Joe’s perspective and without spelling them out?

7. This novel deals a lot with death and grief. How do the characters represent different ways of handling grief? Consider thinking about other characters in addition to Joe, like Angus and Hazel.

8. In literature, a foil is a character that contrasts with another character in order to highlight the other’s qualities. They’re not so much opposites as they are sides of the same coin. How is Charlie a foil of Joe? How can Chloe and Charlie be considered foils of each other? What character traits are accentuated when you look at these pairings? Are there any other characters that you think may be a foil of another?

9. Reflect on the friendships present in the novel. Consider what Janet writes about friends, how Chloe is a good friend but can be wrong at times, and how Charlie appears mean but does try to be a friend to Joe. What does the novel teach you about friendship? How does friendship relate to family?

10. Assumptions play a large role in this story. People make assumptions about Joe nearly every day of his life, and in the yellow book of advice, Janet warns Joe to be careful before he assumes anything. What assumptions did you have about the story or certain characters when you started reading? Were you proven wrong?

11. Joe sees and understands the world differently than neurotypical people. When Pip tries to explain why he does not need to be nice to bullies with a story about her cat, Joe asks questions until Pip has to reconsider her own perspective. Chloe says that “He does this . . . He makes you think” (pg. 141). Was there a moment in the book when Joe made you think or reconsider a view you had?

12. In the epilogue, Charlie makes Joe an epitaph plaque, and Joe requests that he write Joe-Nuthin instead of Joe-Nathan. Why do you think Joe chooses to keep this nickname?

13. Return to the prologue and the first question in this guide. What did this novel teach you about fear? What did Joe learn about fear?

Enhance Your Book Club

1. We see snippets from the blue and yellow books Janet made for Joe throughout the novel. Discuss in a group what you would like to have seen Janet write. Try writing your own entries for the yellow book of advice and share with the group. What can you all learn from each other?

2. Host a Friends viewing party. Watch the episodes Joe references in the novel and whichever other episodes are your favorites.

3. If you were to write an epitaph for yourself, what would it say? Individually, everyone should write an epitaph for themselves and then share with the group. See if the group would highlight the same qualities that you would about yourself. This is not a game and there is no winner, but bonus points go to whoever can come up with the funniest epitaph!