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I'm Looking Through You Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

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I'm Looking Through You by Jennifer Finney Boylan

I'm Looking Through You

Growing Up Haunted

by Jennifer Finney Boylan
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  • First Published:
  • Jan 15, 2008, 288 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Oct 2008, 288 pages
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Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Belief in Ghosts and our BookBrowse Review of I'm Looking Through You.


Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

  1. Consider the book's title and subtitle. How have specters and living beings served as windows for one another throughout Jenny's life? Growing up, what did she see as she looked at herself?
  2. What solidarity does Jenny find with the spirits that populated the Coffin House? How have her relationships with the ghosts changed, and in what new ways does the present day Jenny describe being haunted?
  3. What did Jenny's relatives and their friends teach her about gender roles? How did their particular outlook on life affect her choices? How did their tone affect her written voice? Could you hear echoes of any of the people she describes in Jenny's own words?
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  1. How does the author develop themes of identity and belonging throughout the narrative?
  2. What role does the setting play in shaping the characters' decisions and relationships?
  3. Discuss how the ending reframes the events of the story. Were you surprised?


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

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Beyond the Book:
  Belief in Ghosts

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