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Characters |
|
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McAfee family |
Campanello family |
|
Olivia McAfee
- zoologist Asher Fields
– son Brandon
Fields – husband, divorced, abusive Parents –
apiarists Jordan –
brother, defense attorney Selena – wife,
investigator Sam – son Dirk –
Asher’s friend, co-captain of hockey team with Asher Margot –
Brandon’s second wife Shane and
Shawn – sons |
Lily –
cutting, attempted suicide (previously Liam) Ava – mother,
National Forest Service Jonal and Sorel
– boyfriend and friend at old school, planned attack Dr. Monica Powers – preformed Lily’s surgery |
|
Maya Banjaree
– friend of both Asher and Lily Deepa and
Sharon – mothers Lieutenant
Mike Newcomb Judge Rhonda
Byers Assistant
Attorney General Gina Jewett Elizabeth
(Edgar) – owner of music shop Dr. Benjamin
Oluwye – pathologist, clotting disorder |
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For Discussion:
NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.
1.
How did the beekeeping scenes add to the
story? Why do you think the authors chose
that occupation for Asher’s mother?
2.
Lily had faked being happy for so long, she
could not remember how to be sad. Her
therapist told her to fake being sad until she remembered how. Do you think this was good advice?
3.
Discuss the importance of music and playing the
cello was to Lily. How did this add to
her character?
4.
Both mothers kept secrets from their
children. Do you think Olivia should
have told Asher about his father’s violent nature? Was there anything Ava could have done to
help Lily’s father accept her?
5.
When thinking about how people have acted toward
her, Lily, in her chapter 5, thinks, “I think that what they hate is
difference. What they hate is that the
world is complicated in ways they can’t understand” (page 218). Do you think this is a good description?
6.
When Lily came to Adams High, she chose not to
join the Rainbow Alliance at the school and instead, acted as if she was not
transgender and dated Asher. She
wondered if it was “just internalized transphobia? Is my love for him actually a weird way of
hating myself?” (page 219). Why do you
think she did what she did?
7.
Did you like the writing style – jumping among
characters and time lines, the numbered lists, the inclusion of information about
beekeeping and forestry?
8.
What was the purpose of the list, “Five Things
About the Bible” on page 211?
9.
Did you think Maya should have been arrested
since, when she and Lily were fighting over the phone, she “shoved her away”
(page 426)?
10.
The authors addressed many controversial
subjects in this book such as racial prejudice, sexual orientation,
self-cutting, suicide, abusive husbands, treatment of prisoners in jail, the
legal system, abortion. Was this too
much?
11.
Jodi Picoult often tackles difficult subjects in
her books:
a.
My Sister’s Keeper – genetically
engineered child to provide organs for first child
b.
Nineteen Minutes – school shooting
c.
The Pact – teen suicide
d.
Sing You Home – gay rights
How well did this book address
this issue? Why do you think she decided
to work with a co-author on this book?
12.
Did the book lead you to think about gender
differently? On page 392 there was a
list of things we assign gender to such as hurricanes and ships. On 392 and 393 the authors wrote “that even
sound is gendered.” Most of the brass
instruments in an orchestra are played by boys; in the woodwind’s, bassoon and
clarinets by boys but flutes by girls; with stringed instruments the deeper the
tone the more likely the musician will be a boy.
13.
Did her approach to transgenders give you any
new insights? How well did she and her
co-author approach the issue? Do you
think the book will be banned in some schools?
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