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Book Discussion Questions

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Please be aware that this discussion guide contains spoilers.

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1. Cooper and Finch spend most of their lives in the cabin and the wilderness, totally cut off from civilization. How does this isolated setting affect the tone and atmosphere of the book?
2. Cooper and Scotland spend much of the novel seeming to dislike (or at least distrust) one another. In what ways are they similar? Is their dislike founded or unfounded?
3. Loss is a common theme throughout this story. How do you think each character processes grief in the novel, and how does it impact the actions they take?
4. Cooper, deep down, is a good man, but he does make some questionable decisions. He himself admits that he doesn’t see the world in black and white. Finch, on the other hand, has a strong moral compass and reacts instinctively when someone is being hurt. Are children sometimes more moral than adults? Or are adults simply working from a more complicated and nuanced view of the world?
5. Cindy’s family—the Lovelands—are portrayed as prestigious, wealthy, and well-respected in the community, while Cooper comes from a lower-income, less stable family. How do you think that the Lovelands’ class and status would have impacted any decisions about parental rights?
6. Cooper is torn between telling the truth about the missing girl and staying in hiding to protect his own daughter. In the same circumstances, what would you have done? Do you agree with how he handled the situation?
7. Poetry—especially the works of Walt Whitman—plays a big role in the novel, and the way Finch views the world. Why do you think she connected so strongly with Walt Whitman’s poems in particular? What was the significance of the poem that Cooper left for Finch at the end of the book? Which poem would you have picked?
8. The epilogue is the only chapter written from Finch’s perspective. What did you think of this shift in point of view? What surprised you, or didn’t, about how Finch’s life ultimately turned out?

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One Book Sponsors

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One Book is sponsored by ²×ÖÝÖÐѧŮ½Ìʦ³ö¹ì, the ²×ÖÝÖÐѧŮ½Ìʦ³ö¹ì Foundation and the public libraries of Montcalm County.