Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for Won't Be Long Now by Elizabeth Hardinger

1. Beyond what Billie says, why do you think she feels she doesn't belong in the same world as her parents?
2. What do you understand Billie to mean when she says that people's words sometimes "echo" in her mind? Have you (or someone you know) ever had an experience like this?
3. Billie often mentions the polka dot agate rock given to her by her friend Harriet. What do you think it means to Billie?
4. Why does Billie say that her grandmother is "natural"? What does she mean by that?
5. Billie tests at the level of genius and reads a thick dictionary for pleasure, and yet she is naïve about some things— for example, she thinks that the Garden of Eden tourist venue is the actual location where Adam and Eve once walked. How do you reconcile these two?
6. What role do you think the woman Billie meets at the Garden of Eden plays in the story? As off-putting as she is, why do you think Billie is drawn to her?
7. How do you think Billie's life would have turned out if her father had lived?
8. How do Billie's feelings about her mother change over the course of the novel? Does Dixie go through a similar change?
9. How would you describe Billie's feelings for Clayton? How does he feel about her?
10. Beyond abject grief, what do you think of the reaction of the Enholm family and the Wiley community to the accident that claims the lives of their loved ones? Did anything about it surprise you?
11. Billie's feelings about Joan are complicated. What aspects of Billie's life play into that relationship?
12. Do you think Billie made the right decision to stay in Hutch and take care of her mother?
13. Do you think Billie is, as she implies, autistic? How does that affect your view of her and her story?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of A John Scognamiglio Book. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.