Losing Hope

The epistolary form is often used in novels to give readers insight into a character’s thoughts and feelings. Losing Hope complicates this form in that Holder is writing to a dead person who can never respond. What is the effect of the letters from Holder to Les?

Analyze the relationship between literary realism and Losing Hope. To what extend does Hoover use or subvert the conventions of literary realism?

The novel explores Holder and Sky’s physical attraction. What role does sexual attraction and physical connection play in the novel?

There are hints of Sky’s dissociations from the beginning of the novel. How do these moments provide suspense throughout?

One of the criticisms of Hoover’s novels is her use of “trauma plots”. Research discussions of “trauma plots” in the media and analyze Hoover’s presentation of trauma as a thematic element in the novel.

“Firsts” play a role in the dynamics between Holder and Sky, especially because this is their first love. What do “firsts” represent in the novel? 

The novel begins with Les Holder’s death by suicide and ends with her abuser’s death by suicide. Discuss the effect of this structural decision.

Holder’s letters to Les show his grieving process over the two-year period following her death. How does Hoover portray time in the novel?