Introduction

When the longtime abuse by a university’s softball coach of teenagers in its youth summer softball program—and the university’s strategic cover-up of those crimes—comes to light, a community is turned upside down in this drama-filled thriller perfect for fans of Kate Elizabeth Russell and Allison Leotta.

Campus, corporate, and local politics collide when a high-profile sexual misconduct scandal rocks a prominent university.

Serena Stanfield, Mountain Hill University’s human resources director, has just learned that the school’s softball coach has been molesting teenagers in its youth summer softball program for years, and that the university has covered it up from both her and the public. Troy Abernathy, a junior associate at an international investigations firm, is navigating a turbulent, toxic workplace as the company aims to be retained by the university to investigate these sexual assault allegations. Megan Black, a new member of the Mountain Hill City Council, is thrust into the fallout from the national scandal while she simultaneously focuses on securing a presidential commutation for her childhood friend, who is unfairly facing decades in prison after stabbing her abusive husband to death in self-defense.

As additional disturbing details of the coach’s actions are uncovered, Serena, Troy, Megan, and other prominent community figures confront competing interests and unique obstacles while they each pursue different paths toward obtaining justice for the softball program’s sexual abuse survivors—and offer conflicting understandings of what justice would even mean.

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Excerpt

Chapter 1 - Serena
Age doesn’t matter. Especially with someone as mature as you.
Serena allowed these toxic words to marinate in her mind as she reached into the top right drawer of her mahogany desk and withdrew a stick of cinnamon gum from the open pack. She would have preferred one of her peppermint lozenges, but sometimes they gave her short-lived sneezing fits, and there wasn’t time for that. Instead she delicately peeled back the gum wrapper, then shoved the spicy stick into her mouth, which had remained agape since she’d read those same words on yet another document three minutes ago. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

From the author:

1. Open Bar is told from the perspective of three different main characters, who view the key events and issues of the novel in strikingly dissimilar ways. What is the significance of character perspective in Open Bar and how does each person’s viewpoint impact their actions and how they view the other individuals?

2. What challenges do each of the main characters face when attempting to confront injustice, and how does the threat and reality of retaliation influence their decisions?

3. Open Bar explores what it means to “tell the truth” and what that costs. In what ways does the book show that truth is not simply revealed, but negotiated, contested, and sometimes suppressed?

4. Do you agree with Emma’s decision to reveal her firm’s investigative work on behalf of Caleb Lugo? If not, what should she have done?

5. In the context of real-world movements to prevent and address issues of sexual assault (e.g., #MeToo, #TimesUP, and Title IX), how does the response to sexual allegations in Open Bar differ from how these situations are generally portrayed in the media?

6. Serena has to make several challenging decisions regarding how to confront the university administration on behalf of many sexual assault survivors. Do you agree with her choices, and what different tactics could she have taken?

7. How does Troy’s internal conflict with career ambitions, ethics, and loyalty illustrate the pressures faced by individuals in corporate settings?

8. How does Megan’s dual role as public figure and private advocate complicate her decisions and choices?

9. What does Evina’s fight for freedom say about whether clemency decisions are based on the merits of such cases or political considerations?

10. What is the significance of Julia crying, and how should Troy have responded to her at that time?

11. Why is this novel called Open Bar, and how does the title relate to the key themes and issues in the story?

Weblinks

»	Kirkus Review of Book A timely and absorbing novel that asks what it costs to tell the truth.
»	Dan Schorr's website
»	Publisher's book info
»	Dan's Substack

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