Dorian Cirrone: Author of Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You, Prom Kings and Drama Queens, and the Lindy Blues mysteries

Discussion Questions for
Prom Kings and Drama Queens

 

  • The title, Prom Kings and Drama Queens, comes from John Mayer’s song “No Such Thing,” which Emily dances to at the end of the novel. Mayer sings that he never lived the dreams of the prom kings and drama queens and that he likes to think the “best of me is still hiding up my sleeve.” What meaning does this have for the novel?
  • Mayer also sings “they love to tell you stay inside the lines.” What does Mayer mean, and what does this have to do with the novel? Can you find passages in the book that refer to various types of actual lines?
  • Which characters stay inside the lines?
  • Which characters don’t?
  • What might be the symbolic significance of the Harringtons’ snow globe collection?
  • How do Brian’s parents treat his grandmother? Why do you think they treat her this way?
  • Do you think Emily and Daniel did the right thing by not revealing the truth about Brian and the other basketball team members?
  • Why didn’t Daniel tell on the team?
  • Why didn’t Emily tell on the team?
  • Sometimes people do the wrong thing for the right reasons. Can you think of any events in the novel where that happens?
  • Likewise, sometimes people do the right thing for the wrong reasons. Does this also happen in the novel?
  • How and why do Emily and Daniel come up with the plan for the alternative prom?
  • Do you think Brian made the right decision about the prom? Why do you think he chose the way he did?
  • Which prom would you have chosen to attend?
  • On page 194, Daniel uses the term, “conspicuous consumption,” coined by economist Thorstein Veblen. What do you think that means?
  • What is the significance of Emily’s mother’s job as a food stylist? What does it have to do with the themes of the novel?
  • On page 197, Emily realizes that “doing well” and “doing good” are two very different things. What does she mean by that?
  • At one point, Emily thinks about a picture book called Miss Rumphius, in which the main character tells her niece to make the world more beautiful.
  • How do various characters in the novel make the world more beautiful?
  • How could you make the world more beautiful?
  • At a certain point, Emily realizes that her parents were young once with dreams just like hers. What happened to their dreams? Do you think the same thing will happen to Emily?