Reading Guide Questions

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Why did Nora give up her first baby and not her second? In turn, how did each child pay the price of her decision?
   
   
2. How do Jonah's scars influence his life the most?
   
   
3. Why is Jonah so much more interested in the baby his mother gave up than Troy is about being adopted?
   
   
4. How do you feel Jonah and Troy's lives would have been different if Nora had been honest with Wayne Hill, Troy's natural father, about being pregnant?
   
   
5. How are Steve and Holiday, and Jonah important to each other? Why did their relationship end?
   
   
6. Why couldn't Jonah recognize the circumstances he could change/influence so his fate would turn out differently?
   
   
7. How would Jonah and Troy's lives been different if Jonah had been honest with Troy about their connection when they first met?
   
   
8. Why do you think Jonah didn't tell Troy the truth about Nora's life and personality when they first meet? Would this have changed the relationship between Troy and Jonah?
   
   
9. At what point did you recognize that Jonah has seriously broken with reality?
   
   
10. What is the significance of names in this novel? Why do you think the author chose each name?
    Troy, The Mrs. Glass House, Jonah, Gary Gray, Mrs. Keene, Lisa Fixx, Loomis, St. Bonaventure
    

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