Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Hope tells us that she was born weighing only a few pounds and unable to breathe on her own. Did this influence Deena's decision to skip out on her, or would Deena have left even if Hope had been born without any issues?
- Hope's mother names her Tulip when she's born. While it's probably one of the worst names a parent could give a child, tulips actually symbolize love. In what way(s) does Hope's absentee mother show her love for Hope over the years?
- Would Hope still have turned out to be such a caring, resilient young woman if Deena had stuck around and raised her? Why or why not?
- It seems that most of the people working at the Welcome Stairways diner have been abandoned at some point in their lives. In what ways (positive and negative) does this affect their relationships with one another?
- In Chapter 16, G.T. asks Addie out on a date and in Chapter 17 he asks her to marry him. Why does Bauer leave out the details of their romance in between these two events?
- Good vs. evil lines up pretty neatly in this book. Is this realistic?