| 1. |
Why, after years of living in a happy, supportive home is Dell still haunted by her past? Why does she risk opening old wounds in order to search for the truth about her biological mother and father?
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| 2. |
What do you think James and Karen would have said if Dell had, at the outset, been honest about her desire to find her biological family? Is it natural for adoptive parents to feel hurt or threatened by such desires? |
| 3. |
As young adults, both Dell and Shasta have made choices in opposition to the desires of their parents. To what degree should parents, grandparents, or guardians attempt to control grown children? Should young adults be allowed to make mistakes and suffer the consequences? How have you dealt with this issue in your own family? |
| 4. |
While in Tuskahoma, Dell experiences both rejection and acceptance due to her Choctaw heritage and physical appearance. Have you had similar experiences in your own life? Have you ever been accepted or rejected based on your appearance or your identification as part of a specific group? How did this make you feel? |
| 5. |
In advising Jace about Autumn’s grief, Dell says that, for years after Grandma Rose’s death, she felt Grandma Rose nearby, protecting and guiding her. Is this imagination? Reality? Have you ever felt as if a lost loved were helping or guiding you? |
| 6. |
At twenty, Dell and Shasta have taken very different paths in life, yet the two young women look at each others’ lives with longing. Can you identify with the longings Dell and Shasta experience? Have you had difficulty choosing between, or planning the timing of, education, career, and family in your own life? |
| 7. |
Even before discovering connections to her own biological family, Dell begins to feel grounded in the roots of her Choctaw heritage. What things in your own family history make you feel grounded? |
| 8. |
Jace and Dell experience a strong connection and an undeniable attraction to one another, yet Jace chooses not to pursue the relationship due to their age difference. Is his choice the right choice? Should age difference matter in relationships? Why or why not? |
| 9. |
As Dell leaves the Choctaw council house grounds to return to Kansas City, the future seems to be opening before her, filled with new choices and possibilities. What do you think she will choose? What will she do next? Will she return to Tuskahoma or move on to Julliard? |
