This reading group guide for American Girls includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

Introduction

Raised in a restrictive Jehovah’s Witness community, sisters Samantha and Lori Sally suffered shared trauma in childhood, leading to early adulthoods spent drifting in and out of bad jobs and abusive relationships. When they were in their twenties, their fates diverged dramatically: Lori left her violent husband and began to rebuild her life, while Sam moved with her radicalized husband and their two children to Raqqa, Syria, to join the Islamic State (ISIS). Through a deep analysis of religious extremism, radicalization, and the complicated bonds of sisterhood, American Girls tells the story of these two women, following Sam’s journey into the Islamic State and Lori’s tireless efforts to bring her home.

Topics & Questions for Discussion

1. Consider the two questions at the end of the prologue: “Could it have happened to Lori? Could it have happened to anyone?” (3). Why did Sam and Lori’s experiences, which for most of their lives had followed parallel tracks, suddenly take such different paths?

2. Lori blames much of what happened to her and Sam on their upbringing as Jehovah’s Witnesses. How did their religious childhood shape their behavior and their understanding of themselves in their youth? How did it continue to affect their lives as adults, even after they left the community?

3. Discuss the research presented in the book about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), much of which was not widely known when Sam and Lori were young (17). How did these traumas—and others they suffered as teens—influence their future relationships with men?

4. Roy writes, “[Sam] had always felt like her sister was unnecessarily suspicious and critical of new people; every person Lori met was put through an emotional gauntlet to earn her trust. Sam preferred the opposite approach: Trust until the person gives you a reason not to” (80). Are you more like Lori or Sam when it comes to trusting new people? Why?

5. Lori made a distinction between “religiously conservative” and “culturally conservative” after noticing a shift in her husband Yassine’s behavior (90). In what ways does this distinction speak to larger trends in American culture and politics? How does Yassine’s relationship to Islam and conservatism differ from Hariss’s, whom Lori met a few years later (in chapter five, page 133)?

6. Discuss the role of social media and algorithms in radicalization. How much responsibility should social media companies take for what happens on their platforms?

7. Put yourself in Lori’s shoes and imagine that someone close to you has sent you an email similar to the one that Sam sent to Lori from Syria. How would you feel? What actions do you think you would take?

8. Discuss the questions Roy poses in chapter fourteen: “What does justice look like for a criminal who is also a victim? How can Samantha Sally make things right with society, and how can society make things right with Samantha Sally?” (294).

9. Consider the experiences and fates of the children in American Girls, particularly Sam’s kids. How do you think she and Lori feel about Nadia, Ilyas, and Aisha being raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses by their grandparents?

10. Though Sam was charged for her role in financing terrorism, Roy notes that she “may never, and probably won’t, be held legally responsible for what she did when living under ISIS” (298). Do you agree? How do you feel about Sam’s conviction? Discuss this, and Sam’s sentencing, with your group.

11. Discuss Lori and Sam’s complicated relationship, and the various ways they support and betray each other throughout their lives. Roy writes, “At some point everybody needs someone, [Lori] thinks, no matter what they’ve done. And even after everything, she doesn’t mind being Sam’s someone” (300). Do you think you would feel this way about a family member who had hurt you as much as Sam hurt Lori, or who had made such grave mistakes?

Enhance Your Book Club

1. Watch the 2020 Frontline PBS documentary “Return From ISIS,” which features the Sally sisters. How does the documentary illuminate your reading experience?

2. Read some of Jessica Roy’s recent articles. Visit her website (jessicakroy.com) or MuckRack profile (muckrack.com/jessicakroy) to find links to clips.

3. Have each member of your book group pull up their Facebook homepage and call out the ads and articles that appear in their feed. How similar or different are your feeds? Why do you think the algorithm shows you what it does?

4. Search online for Samantha Elhassani. Has there been any recent news about her case or release since the publication of American Girls?