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Yancey Harrington Braxton is trying to make a comeback. She's a has-been singer/actress working with small theatre
productions and even smaller budgets. Yancey has lost the status, but she hasn't lost the attitude. Her world begins
to change on the evening she meets a sexy stranger in Miami and when her mother Ava is released from prison on
early parole. When that stranger helps Yancey get her own reality show and Ava starts wreaking havoc on her life,
Yancey will have to decide between facing her past for real or for show.

2
 
 

1. When Yancey's producer Cale begins to ask her about Madison she says: "I come from a long line of bad mothers
and [that is] most likely the reason I was so afraid to be one myself." What do you think the author is saying about the
importance of mother/daughter relationships?

2. Describe the men in the novel. How do they interact with Ava and Yancey? What do the men in their lives tell us
about their behavior?

3. Throughout the novel, characters are either being used or are trying to use others. From career moves, to hook
ups, to vengeance plots, talk about some of the examples and how they move the plot along.

4. At the start of the novel, what do Ava and Yancey have in common? How are they different? Has Yancey become
her mother's daughter?

5. When Yancey first meets Lyrical, she describes her as "a tall girl who was dressed like a reject from the WNBA."
Cite other examples of how the main characters, particularly Ava and Yancey, size people up based on their
appearances.

6. "Class," success and happiness are heavily defined by material items throughout the novel. Discuss the impact
those three things have on how the characters are viewed by both other characters and you as a reader.

7. Dalton and Lyrical play similar functions as lesser characters. Describe what those functions ultimately are, and
how they evolve.

8. Yancey and Dalton are able to connect in a way that Yancey cannot with any other character in the novel. What is
the author saying about the importance of friendships? Describe some of the other friendships and how they change
during the course of the novel.

9. How does the reality show, but particularly the forgiveness aspect introduced by Cale, begin to change Yancey's
attitude?

10. Ava lies compulsively throughout the novel. How does this influence your perception of her? Why does she have
so much difficulty telling the truth?

11. For most of the novel Yancey and Ava proudly behave like "divas." But Nicole and Madison have achieved
success and act quite differently. Using both the text and your imagination, piece together what might have happened
in all of these women's pasts to produce such different outcomes.

12. Talk about S. Marcus. Did you think he was too good to be true? Were you expecting the plot twist regarding this
character? Was Yancey a chump for falling for him so quickly?

Source: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Mama-Dearest/E-Lynn-
Harris/9781439158913/reading_group_guide