Book Club Night Kit

The Thoroughbreds

Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham

Cozy night

The second entry in Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham's Academy series returns to a boarding school where friendships, loyalties, and the ground under everyone's feet all start to shift at once. It is the kind of warm, fast-moving story that has people talking before the tea has even finished steeping.

Bring Your Coziest Socks: We Are Going Back to the Academy

We are reading The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham, and then talking it over with pot pie, cookies, and something warm in a mug. No prep, no pressure, just show up.

Reading level: Easy

Best for: A club that likes a fast, feelings-forward read and would rather share stories than dissect symbolism

Discussion

Warm-up

1.Before we talk about the book at all: where did you do most of your reading of it, and did that spot make it feel cozier or more suspenseful?
2.Think back to the version of yourself at the age of these students. What would have comforted that person most on a hard night away from home?

Digging in

1.Boarding school means your friends are also your roommates, your classmates, and your witnesses. Which part of that closeness sounded lovely to you, and which part made your shoulders creep up?
2.When the stability of the school starts to feel uncertain, the characters each reach for something steady. What is the thing you reach for when your own footing goes wobbly?
3.This is a second book, so we come in already fond of some people. Whose return did you feel genuinely glad about, and what was it about them that felt like seeing an old friend?
4.The Academy is a place people are shaped by, for better and worse. Was there a place in your life (a school, a camp, a job, a summer house) that did that to you, and how do you feel about it now?

Going deep

1.Somewhere in this book a relationship you were rooting for gets tested. Without giving away how it lands, tell us about the moment you felt most protective of someone, and why that one got you.
2.By the last stretch of the book, did you feel more tender toward these characters or more worried for them? Try to name the feeling you were left holding as you closed it.

On the table & to sip

To eat

Dining hall pot pie with a flaky top

Boarding school food done right. It is the meal that says someone is looking after you, which is exactly what these characters are searching for.

Warm oatmeal butterscotch cookies, still soft in the middle

The care package cookie. Perfect for a story about kids far from home, and easy to bake in one bowl before everyone arrives.

A big tomato soup and grilled cheese board, cut into halves for sharing

Low effort, high comfort, and it keeps hands busy so the conversation can stay gentle and unhurried.

To sip

Honey vanilla steamers with cinnamon (non-alcoholic) (no alcohol)

A study-night drink for a study-night book. Set out a pitcher of warm milk and let people dose their own honey.

Spiced cider with a splash of bourbon

Autumn campus in a mug. Keep the bourbon on the side so the cider pot stays open to everyone.

Mulled red wine with orange peel

Slow, warm, and a little indulgent. It simmers unattended while guests arrive, which is the whole point of a cozy night.