Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Shmoop tends to think that the characters in The Wave are generic "types" rather than fully fleshed out characters. Do you agree? Why or why not?
- How do you feel about the super intense way Ben reveals the truth of The Wave to his students?
- The Wave is actually an adaptation of a movie. (Used to seeing it the other way around, right?) Have you read any other novelizations? Would you like to read more? Does this book seem different to you than books which started out as books? Why or why not?
- Can you identify with any of the characters in this book, or with their experiences? If so, which ones? If not, why not?
- The Wave was published in 1981 before everyone had a smart phone and before – gasp! – the Internet was a household (and on-the-go) necessity. How might The Wave look if it were set in the twenty-first century?
- Do you think the author is trying to make a comment about the media through his discussion of The Gordon Grapevine? Why or why not?
- Would you have joined The Wave? (That's a tough one, we know!)
- Have you learned about the Holocaust in school? How did your teacher approach the subject? How did you react?
- Let's get creative: write an alternate ending to The Wave in which Ben doesn't end things and everything starts to spiral out of control.