Wintergirls Discussion Questions

One of the great things about being the sponsor for the student organization book group is when they choose to read a book that coincides with other events on campus.  Next month we are going to be having an event that was created by a friend of mine to help people create a new dialog about self image and self worth.  The organization is called Southern Smash and has been doing a great job on campus' like ours as well as others across the southeastern US.  This months book is called Wintergirls and it's by Laurie Halse Anderson and focuses on a teenager going through a very serious battle with an eating disorder.  Normally, I include questions of my own mixed with those provided by the publisher, but this month the questions the publisher provides are so great those are what I'm listing below.  In addition to the questions the publisher had I found a ton of great resources on this page from Grand Valley State University.

• Read the two epigraphs printed at the front of the book. How do you think each relates to Lia and her situation?

• What do the crossed-out words and phrases reveal about Lia? Why can’t she allow herself to say or think some things? What is she afraid will happen if she does?

• Define “wintergirl.” In what ways are Lia and Cassie frozen? Discuss the symbolism of winter and cold found throughout the story and the role it plays in building the main themes of the novel.

• Does Lia want to lose weight so she will look thin and pretty? What does her thinness mean to her? How does she think it gives her power?

• Does Cassie’s death trigger Lia’s restrictive eating patterns to reemerge? Why or why not?

• “Empty” becomes synonymous with “strong” for Lia throughout most of the story. How does Lia justify this comparison? Do her feelings ever change?

• Lia repeats the phrase “When I was a real girl . . . “ If she’s not real now, what is she? When did she stop being real? Will she ever be real again?

• The night Cassie dies, why does she call Lia? Would it have made a difference if Lia had answered? Why or why not? Could anything have saved Cassie?

• In the newspaper article about Cassie’s death, the superintendent of schools says, “Most teens today struggle with something.” Do you agree? Explain your opinion.

• What is friendship? Describe the important elements of Lia and Cassie’s relationship. Are they really friends?

• Describe Lia’s relationships with her mother, father, Jennifer, and Emma.  How is Lia different with each of them? What do they each contribute to her situation? How do they each influence her?

• Lia is particular about the names she calls her family members  (i.e. “Jennifer” instead of Stepmother, “Dr. Marrigan” instead of Mom, “Professor Overbrook” instead of Dad). What does this reveal about what

Lia thinks of her family members?

• Discuss the line: “I pretend to be a fat, healthy teenager. They pretend to be my parents.” What does this line expose about Lia’s feelings for her parents? What does Lia’s frequent use of the word “pretend” throughout

the book tell you about the way she views others? Why does Lia feel she and others must pretend?

• What does Lia think makes her strong? What do you think of as Lia’s strengths? Would Lia agree with you? How does Lia’s perception of strength change toward the end of the story?

• What do we learn from Cassie’s ghost? Does her presence help or hinder Lia on her path to recovery? What does Cassie’s ghost come to symbolize by the end of the novel?

• Discuss Lia’s relationship with Elijah. When she first meets him and lies about her identity, why do you think she chooses to give her stepsister’s name as her own? What is Elijah able to give Lia that the other people in her life cannot? What do you think about the way their relationship ends?

• What role does Lia’s knitting play in the novel? What does it come to symbolize?

• Elijah calls himself “a wanderer in search of truth.” Does he find truth by the end of the story? Does Lia? Are any of the other characters able to do so? Explain.

• Lia’s mother tells her: “Cassie had everything: a family who loved her, friends, activities. Her mother wants to know why she threw it all away.“According to Lia, asking “why” Cassie died is the wrong question. She says to ask “why not.” What do you think she means by this? Which do you think is the right question to ask? Is there an answer to either?

• Why do you think Lia and Cassie took their eighth grade New Year’s resolutions so seriously? How do these promises play into the rest of the story?

• Lia’s dad says to her: “I wish I understood what goes on inside you . . . why you’re so afraid.“ Is fear part of Lia’s problem? What is she afraid of?

• What is Lia using her thinness to communicate to her parents? What is her body saying that her voice cannot?

• Why do you think Lia finally opens up to Dr. Parker? What do you think of what she chooses to tell her? How does the conversation change Lia’s situation?

• Dr. Parker tells Lia: “In one aspect, yes, I believe in ghosts, but we create them.” Do you agree with her? How much of what happens to Lia is a result of her own doing? How much of it is caused by others?

• What does the “see–glass” mean to Lia? What does she think she needs it for? Does this end up being true?

• What ultimately changes for Lia by the end of the story? Why does she survive when Cassie didn’t?

 

Lifemobile Discussion Questions

Every now and then you get a book that is a quick read but is such a good story with a perspective and a topic you aren't really expecting.  Lifemobile was one of those books for me.  Never in a million years would I have picked this book.  It just wouldn't appeal to me. But this was a good read and I'm so pleased the students picked this one. 

Enjoy,
Magpie

Benjy’s Asperger’s tick is telling the truth.  What would you want yours to be?

Has anyone who is different changed your life or your view on people like Benjy?

On page 98 you hear Ben talk about his struggles with Benjy finding his place.  Do you think your parents feel this way?  Hearing it from the parent’s side, does it give you some new perspective on them and how and why they treat you the way they do?

Do you agree with Ben that the car was a “means to an end” in terms of spending time with Benjy?

On page 127 Benjy has a dialogue with Brad about driving the student car, should Ben have stepped in or given Brad some warning?

On page 129 Kenny says that Benjy has taught him something about responsibility.  Do you think this is a reason to give people a chance and take the good with the bad in order to help both parties grow?

Benjy wants to be treated fairly and equally, but Ben wants him to have exceptions for his Math classes.  Is that fair?

Do you feel like this book is similar to others like The Perks of Being a Wallflower?

Do you think there are students like Benjy at your school?

Why write it from Ben’s point of view?  How would it have been different if it would have been written from Benjy’s point of view?

Do you think Benjy will be okay in the long run living and working with Kenny?

The author has previously written for TV and movies, do you see this story used for either?

Do you think the book is more credible because it is based on the author’s own experience with his son?

Quiet Reading Assignment IV

This upcoming week is  Homecoming and Family Weekend here on campus, so things are going to be very hectic for me so I'm hoping to be able to get this assignments questions up as soon as I can.  But at least you can read pages 130 - 180 and be prepared when they do hit.

Magpie

Maine Reading Questions

Families are an odd thing.  They help us grow, they guide us, they are the keepers of our histories, and they are who we share our joys and sorrows with.  Maine is the kind of book that helps you look at four sides of what it can be like to be a member of a family.  I personally come from a family that in some ways reminds me a good bit of the Kelleher family.  We spend time together when we can and there is usually a great deal of food and laughter.  Some of that I think is a big part of the fact that we all originate from the South, and the other part is that I think that was something fostered in us by our elders.  Having said that, there is not nearly as much drama with my family like there is with the Kelleher's.  This book was the September reading for the student organization I sponsor.  It wasn't my favorite book, but I did keep reading it mainly because I wanted to know what was going to happen with each character.  Not the most satisfying finish, but it is one of those that kinda makes you fill the void with your own ideas. 

Magpie
 

If you had to choose one word to describe the overriding theme of Maine, what would it be?

Which of the women in the novel would you say is a good mother, and why? Who resents motherhood the most?

Discuss how each of the four main characters—Alice, Kathleen, Maggie, and Ann Marie—approaches religion. Who seems to have the most comfortable relationship with God?

What was Alice’s motivation for changing her will? Why did she wait so long to tell her family?

Speaking of secrets, many of the characters in the novel keep substantial secrets for one reason or another. Whose is the most damaging?

What role does alcohol—and alcoholism—play in the novel? How do the characters use alcohol (or abstain from it)?

What does Ann Marie’s obsession with dollhouses tell us about her character?

Why did Daniel’s death have such an impact on the family?

What did you think of the revelation about Mary’s death? Was Alice right to blame herself?

How did Ann Marie misread Steve so completely? And why does Kathleen’s witnessing the event change her attitude towards Ann Marie? Why do you think Kathleen reacted the way she did?

What kind of mother do you think Maggie will be? Who will she take after most: Alice, Kathleen, or Ann Marie?

Discuss the last lines of the book: “She prayed until she heard footsteps behind her, coming slowly down the aisle, a familiar voice softly calling out her name: ‘Alice? Alice. It’s time.’” Is this Father Donnelly, Daniel, or someone else?

Which of these women would you like to spend more time with? Are there any you’d never want to see again?

“Even after thirty-three years of marriage, Ann Marie sat at every family dinner and listened to them tell the same stories, over and over. She has never met a family so tied up in their own mythology.” (page 140) What is the mythology of the Kelleher family? Who is helped the most by it? And harmed the most?

Quiet pages 97 - 129 Reading Questions

There are times when I'm doing the reading that I get so into it that I forget to take notes and create questions as I go.  Having said that, after reading this section, I am fighting the urge to go hang out at my friends house and do experiments on her newborn son.  Anyway, I don't have a ton of questions for this week's short reading, but as always feel free to make suggestions.

Magpie

What has helped you as an introvert to overcome your introversion?  If you aren't an introvert, but you know one, what have you seen work for them?

Have you seen evidence in yourself or others that being an intro/extrovert is a part of their nature?

On page 104 they discuss how companies like Disney reinforce the stereotype of what an introvert looks like.  Do you find when you imagine what and intro/extrovert looks like you have a stereotype in mind?

Have you ever seen outside factors influence whether or not someone will grow into an intro/extrovert?

Do you agree with Kagan that there are many routes to becoming an intro/extrovert?

Do you agree with Cain that given the right environment while growing up a child can change the temperament they were born with?

Can you think of someone you know who has found ways to become an extrovert despite their nature introversion tendency?  Did it work or is it really just a façade?

Schwartz's research shows that we can stretch ourselves but only up until a point.  Do you agree with this? (p117)

Cain gives several examples of how introverts can learn to find their comfort levels in social situations while allowing themselves time to decompress.  Do you think that now you will begin to learn to play the "sweet-spot game" in order to be more comfortable in your surroundings?

Quiet Reading Assignment III

This week we will be reading and discussing pages 97 - 129.  It looks like it's going to be an interesting read. 

In the meantime I got a link to another good article by one of the participants. 

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-3495-Workplace-Issues-The-power-of-introverts-in-the-workplace/?SiteId=cbmsn43495&sc_extcmp=JS_3495_advice


Introvert seems to be the catch word these days and I'm seeing it pop-up everywhere, even on silly blogs.

http://www.janeaustenfilmclub.blogspot.ca/2013/09/fanny-price-introvert-is-she-unfilmable.html

There Is No Dog Reading Questions

Sometimes the students pick a book that we all just love, sometimes, they like it and I don't, and sometimes they pick one we all don't like.  That was the case with There Is No Dog.  I always tell them, come prepared to talk about why or why you didn't like a book.  And they came prepared.  We also talked about how we would have written it differently or how we would have changed it.  The larger majority of the students felt like it was just a rough draft that got published anyway.  Some felt that had more of the details (like the flood) been more realistic they could have followed along.  These students have seen what real storms and flooding look like, and there are no romantic dates on boats during a flood! 

Below are some question on the reading if you liked the book, give me some feedback on why you did!
Magpie

While reading did you make the connection with not only the Bible but other mythology stories?  What effect did that have on you while reading?

Can you think of other books or movies that use similar ideas of taking well known stories and base new stories off of them?

Does it ever feel like a teenager is responsible for the events in your life?

What was the moral of this book? (the students asked this one)

How do you think that Earth would have turned out if Mr. B were God all along instead of Bob?  Or were they a good combination?

Could our world work with the combination of Gods and humans living together?

Bob asks if there would be any point to life if things were great all the time.  He also points out that hope is a dangerous thing.  What do you think? 

Why do you think it was Bob who was transferred instead of Mr. B?

Was what Lucy experienced with Bob love?  Do you think she will have a more realistic version of love with Luke?

Were you offended by the books slant on theology?  Why or why not?