Book Group Guide for Dangerous to Heal
Human trafficking, lost love, prejudice, alien cultures, an elite galactic university…there’s so many interesting discussions to be had around Dangerous to Heal. I’m grateful you would consider my space opera for your book group. I’ve compiled this resource to help you have a fun and interesting discussion.
If you need any additional information or want to set up a video call, you’re welcome to reach out.
Description
In a galaxy where the last rare resource is unique humans, Yaniqui knows her ability to heal is priceless. She lives in hiding on a dry labor planet, mourning the loss of her engagement to Hloban, the man she loved.
Yaniqui is discovered when she heals an injured migrant worker and word of her abilities travels all the way to Earth, where Hloban lives – with his wife. He hasn’t seen Yaniqui since childhood, but that doesn’t stop him from immediately assembling a rescue party.
As the estranged, would-be-lovers are pulled across the stars, the surprising involvement of the small planet becomes undeniable. An Indigenous woman living in the environmentally fractured United States, an expelled student from an elite galactic university, and an alien who thinks only in the present tense discover Earth’s enigmatic role in the interstellar trafficking trade.
As Yaniqui and her unlikely companions fight for her freedom, she must ask: even if she escapes, can she ever truly be safe in this universe?
Discussion Questions
- Who was your favorite POV character to read?
- Much of the tension in the book comes down to what can reasonably demanded of another person. Do you think society should be able to lay claim to the extraordinary abilities of others? What about in less fantastical circumstances like a military draft?
- Do you think Hloban should have gone after Yaniqui?
- D-68’s chapters were written the present tense to reflect his species’ inability to think about the past. How did this change on a new world with new peoples?
- How did the book present capitalism? Do you agree?
- Was the book more science or fantasy?
- What do you hope is explored in book 2, the final installment of the duology?
Resources
About the Author
Rebecca M. Zornow is a graduate of Lawrence University, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, and a book coach with Conquer Books. She is a Hal Prize winner and Peace Corps Storytelling finalist.
About Dangerous to Heal‘s beginnings she wrote, “I started working on this story when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in eSwatini. I wanted the book to reflect the humanitarian crises of poverty, human trafficking, and inequality that people I cared about faced.”
When Rebecca’s not reading or writing, she loves a good escape room, volunteers for numerous organizations, bakes cookies with her kids, travels, and generally frets about the future.
