What do you feel was gained and/or lost by having this story
told in the first person (from Laurel's viewpoint) rather than the
omniscient viewpoint where the readers knows each character's
thoughts, etc?
Is it possible for a marriage like Laurel and Bennett's to be
strong or healthy with the closed door/a "no-talk" boundary they
allowed after Nan's death?
Was it good timing or too soon after Bennett's death for
Laurel to "take up" with Cory?
If you could step into the story, what would you tell
Benjamin at these points: when Laurel was first leaving Rochester,
when he first learned about Cory, and when he arrived in Little
River.
Is there any hope for Marley?! Do you see this
mother-daughter relationship changing for the good or is Marley
pretty much what she'll always be?
What role did the Benjamin-Marley-Laurel show-down at Nancy's
Acre have in Laurel's emotional healing?
Based on what you know about friendships, what path do you
predict Laurel and Nancy's relationship will take after all that
happens in this story?
As Cory points out, Laurel faces prevailing winds of
differing intensities—some internal, some external. Identify
these. If we could revisit Laurel five years after the story
concludes, which winds, if any, do you think would still be blowing
strong against her?
Do you think Laurel's journaling (poetry) was a good and
appropriate release, or was it a wall behind which she hid rather
than dealing with things head-on?
Just as Laurel responds emotionally and psychologically to
the beauty and subtle messages of the whale totems, art often
reaches below the surface of our emotions and changes us. Relate
how art in some form (paintings, sculpture, drama, dance, music,
etc) has impacted your life.
