Consider how the concept of family is questioned: Multiple characters, including Avery, Grayson, Libby, and Nash, must confront their blood relations only to realize that their links to them are artificial or damaging. How does this relate to the book’s title, The Hawthorne Legacy?

Romantic tropes are common in coming-of-age narratives. Examine one of the romantic subplots in The Hawthorne Legacy through this lens. Possibilities include Libby and Nash, Avery and Grayson/Jameson, and Thea and Rebecca.

The Hawthorne House gains fresh symbolic representation as a “gilded cage” in The Hawthorne Legacy. How does the author support this argument? Consider the various characters’ relationships to the mansion, e.g. Avery, Max, and Toby/Harry.