What Have You Done (Adler and Dwyer, #0.5)

Examine Shari Lapena’s use of unreliable narration in the novel. How does the narrator’s reliability affect the reader’s perception of the truth and plot development? Provide examples of moments where the author foreshadows or reveals the narration as unreliable. What impact does this have on building suspense and tension throughout the narrative?

How does trauma relate to the novel’s theme? Trace its development throughout the text, and explain how it connects to at least two other literary elements.

Identify one internal and one external conflict in the text. Are these conflicts resolved? If so, how? How does their resolution—or lack thereof—connect to the text’s themes?

What are some instances of foreshadowing in the text that lead to the revelation that Evan is Diana’s murderer? Cite and analyze specific quotes from the text. How do these details build suspense and lead to the story’s climax?

Analyze the effect of Lapena using a limited third-person point of view for most of the novel. What impact does it have on the text’s mood and tone? Consider another point of view Lapena could have told the novel from and explain how it might have altered the narrative’s mood, structure, and plot development.

Identify one protagonist and one antagonist in the text. Describe a significant internal change the protagonist underscores and how the antagonist’s actions or characteristics drive this transformation. Use specific evidence from the text to support your answer.

What Have You Done? is often cited as a “domestic thriller” novel—a novel that explores suburban life through a dark lens by looking at the relationships between characters. Identify two themes that support this genre, and analyze how this novel fits that genre.

Aside from Evan, what other character(s) are complicit in Diana’s death? Explain your answer by discussing their characterization in the novel and providing specific examples from the text.