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51 Book Club Questions For John Marrs’ The Family Experiment
The book club guide for The Family Experiment by John Marrs has great discussion questions, fun activity ideas, and themed snacks to help make your meeting both fun and meaningful.
John Marrs’s The Family Experiment is a dark and exciting sci-fi story about virtual parenting in a future world, shown on reality TV. It’s one of the best thrillers I’ve read and totally recommend it for your 2025 book club.
So, if you’re already planning to talk about this book with your group, here are some engaging discussion questions. This guide includes questions about main themes of the book such as
- What virtual parenting could look like?
- How people make tough moral choices?
- The impact of media and public pressure.
- What real human connection means in a tech-driven world?
Plus, there are delicious book club food ideas and activity ideas too. I really hope this book club guide helps you have a memorable meeting about John Marrs’ The Family Experiment.
More Book Club Questions for Books by John Marrs
The Family Experiment by John Marrs
From the acclaimed author of The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and brilliant speculative thriller about families: real and virtual.
Some families are virtually perfect…
The world’s population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, the breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them.
But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show called The Substitute. It will follow ten couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child, or risk it all for the chance of a real baby…
Set in the same universe as John Marrs’s bestselling novel The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and twisted thriller about the ultimate Tamagotchi—a virtual baby.
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51 Best Book Club Questions For The Family Experiment by John Marrs
Top Book Club Questions About Tech & Society
1. If virtual children like those in the book existed, do you think they would become mainstream experiment?
2. How do you think the concept of virtual children would impact real-world parenting?
3. Would you ever consider raising a virtual child?
4. Do you think society would accept or reject this type of technology in real life?
5. What are the ethical concerns of raising a child that isn’t real?
6. How do you think the government would regulate a program like Virtual Children?
7. Do you think raising a virtual child was as emotionally fulfilling as a real child, would adoption rates decline?
8. Discuss whether a virtual child be more “perfect” than a real child since parents can customize them?
9. Discuss whether virtual children create a stronger or weaker emotional connection between parents?
10. What do you think of the plot of the book? Do you think it exaggerates the future of technology, or is it eerily realistic?
Discussion-Worthy Questions Related To Family & Parenthood
11. Discuss the concept of parenting in virtual reality.
12. How would raising a child in the metaverse change family dynamics?
13. Do you think the contestants in the story viewed their virtual children as real?
14. What do you think the book say about how society values biological children versus alternatives?
15. If given the choice at the end of the experiment, what would you choose, a real baby or your virtual one?
16. Do you think a virtual child would feel like an “equal” family member to a real one?
17. Discuss the relationship between virtual children and their sibling.
18. Do you think a virtual child could ever have legal rights?
19. How do you think this book redefines the meaning of family?
20. Do you think raising a virtual child actually prepare someone to be a real parent?
Book Club Questions About Reality TV & Competition
21. Would you watch a reality show like this?
22. What reality shows today remind you of the show in the book?
23. What are some of the problems that could come from making parenting part of a reality show?
24. Do you think the contestants were truly invested in their virtual child, or were they just playing to win?
25. How does turning parenting into a reality show make the situation more complicated or risky?
26. Who do you think a reality show like this would be made for, and why would it appeal to them?
27. If the competition was real, what challenges would you include to test the contestants?
28. How much of a reality show like this do you think would be “staged” for entertainment?
29. How does the book show that people care more about entertainment than real lives?
30. Do you think contestants would parent differently if cameras weren’t watching?
Discussion Questions About Dystopian Themes
31. How does this book compare to other dystopian fiction you’ve read?
32. Do you think the world in the book is a believable future for us?
33. What warning signs from this book do you already see in today’s society?
34. Do you think people in real life would sign up for an experiment like this out of desperation?
35. What are the biggest dangers of a world where virtual children replace real ones?
36. If overpopulation gets worse, do you think governments might actually push for virtual families?
37. Would virtual children make people feel more happy or less happy as parents?
38. Do you think this book is a warning about using too much technology?
39. What do you think might happen in the future if this kind of technology becomes normal?
40. If this story happened 50 years later, what do you think would be different?
Book Club Questions About Characters & Plot
41. Which character’s experience did you love the most?
42. Were you surprised by how any of the contestants acted as parents?
43. What parts of the story made you feel the most emotional about the virtual children, and why?
44. If you were a contestant, how would you have handled the experiment differently?
45. What twists in the book shocked you the most?
46. If you could rewrite the ending, what would you change?
47. Which couple do you think handled the experience best?
48. What’s one lesson about family or technology you took away from the book?
49. Do you think any of the contestants regretted their decision by the end?
50. Would this story work as a movie or TV show? How would you cast it?
51. If there were a sequel, what do you think would happen next?
Snack Ideas For The Family Experiment Book Club Meeting
Photo Credit : Tessie’s Table
- Granola Bars – This is a wholesome, no-fuss snack for any book club. When discussing The Family Experiment, I think, this is the perfect snack to match the themes of survival.
Photo Credit : A Latin Flair
• Crostini with Cheese and Strawberry-Fig Preserves – Now if your members want a mix of rich, creamy, and sweet flavors, this crostini with cheese and strawberry-fig is a must-have.
Photo Credit : Mandi Of The Mountains
• Cucumber, Lemon, and Mint Water – How about a cool and refreshing drink to talk about this speculative thriller? If The Family Experiment is your summer book club, this is the best idea.
Photo Credit : Simply Scratch Made
• Chai-Spiced Oatmeal Cookies – This is my favorite book club snack. You’ll love how warm and full of spice it is.
Photo Credit : My Rad Kitchen
• Honey Strawberry Lemonade – I really enjoyed the emotional moments of this sci-fi thriller. So, I also suggest this sweet and tangy drink for your book club.
The Family Experiment Book Club Activity Ideas:
1. Would You Sign Up? Debate
• This will be a fun activity. Split the group into two teams and debate whether you’d join a reality show like in the novel.
2. Reality TV Parenting Challenge
• Discuss unique challenges that you would add to the show. Let each book club member pick one parenting task they’d make contestants face on live TV.
3. Alternate Ending
•Let each member come up with an alternate ending, what would you have done in the final decision?
Books To Read After The Family Experiment
The Circle by Dave Eggers
This fast-paced sci-fi thriller is about a powerful tech company. What seems like a perfect place to work slowly takes over people’s lives. You will love this book since it has a lot of similar themes like The Family Experiment.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
If you are looking for a speculative thriller with a lot of emotional connection, this is a good choice. Set in an English boarding school, this book follows students who are taught nothing of the outside world and are allowed little contact with it.
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
This book tells the story of a robot girl who watches the world around her and tries to understand what it means to love.Another great book to read after The Family Experiment.
The Passengers by John Marrs
This is another incredible speculative thriller from the author of The Family Experiment. Although it’s not part of a series, both books are set in the same universe. The story is about eight people trapped in self-driving cars that have been hacked, and the public has to decide who gets to live.
The Warehouse by Rob Hart
Set in a future where one giant company controls everything from jobs to housing, this story shows how easy it is to lose freedom when survival depends on corporate systems.
Conclusion:
There you have the best list of discussion-worthy book discussion questions, food ideas and activity ideas for The Family Experiment book club gathering.
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