1. Rita's parents object to her and Arnold living together before marriage. What does research suggest about people who cohabit before marriage? Are they more or less likely to marry? Does it have any bearing on the success or failure of an eventual marriage?

2. Is the children's author Miss Quadrangle credible? What types of books are popular among young readers? What types are critically acclaimed?

3. Beautiful Losers demonstrates that owning or renting a house is an economic and emotional commitment. What plans and preparations should be considered by a first-time home buyer or renter?

4. Rita marries at a very young age. How successful are early marriages in general? According to psychologists and sociologists, what are the advantages and disadvantages to marrying young?

5. Arnold quotes poems by Ezra Pound and William Butler Yeats in the novel.

What other poems by these authors...