Thank you for your insights into our first discussion! This week we will focus on Chapters 3-7 (pp. 70-136). Choose any - or all - of these questions to reflect on the reading.
Discuss the impact of Evan's giftedness.
What stands out to you, as a reader, about the author's style of writing?
React to this quote on p. 95, "You ever hear the crabs-in-a-bushel-basket theory?"
Choose a character and explain how the perception of others impacts their choices.
I absolutely appreciate the author's writing style. When reading each page, I feel like I am right there in the same setting. Evan is quite brave, but I also feel like he wishes he wasn't. It has cost him quite a bit: family, friends, independence. This is a lot for a young child to go through on their own. His own parents haven't been able to move on. All he wants is to move on but at the same time he wishes things were the same. A lot of times, children who are gifted are singled out by their peers and made to feel like their "brightness" is a bad thing. They too often wish things could go back to before they were "identified." I feel terrible Evan's going through this on his own. Thank God for the love of Mama Jennie.