Bird Lake Moon Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Preventing Drowning and our BookBrowse Review of Bird Lake Moon.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

About the Book

During a summer at Bird Lake, Mitch Sinclair and Spencer Stone both seek healing from tragedy in their lives. Mitch's father has left his mother for another woman, while Spencer must come to grips with the death of his brother, Matty. Before the Stone family arrives at Bird Lake, Mitch had claimed the empty summer house next door for his own. When Spencer and his family move in, Mitch resents their intrusion and tries to convince them that the house is haunted. Spencer interprets Mitch's tricks as signs— somehow—from Matty. After the boys meet face-to-face and become friends, Mitch confesses his deception, but he still holds onto one secret. Mitch once again is left to deal with loss and change when the Stone family leaves Bird Lake unexpectedly. By the end of the summer, the boys are reconciled, but each has grown in important ways.


Discussion Questions

1. When Mitch and his mother arrive at Bird Lake, Mitch realizes how much he misses his father and also how much he despises him for leaving. How is it possible for Mitch to feel both ways at the same time? How does Mitch come to terms with his confused feelings about his father?
2. After Mitch's father leaves, he feels like he is "nobody's child" (pages 5 and 8). Why does Mitch feel like his parents are no longer his parents? How does he finally come to terms with his parents' separation?
3. On page 11, Mitch asks himself, "Didn't it make sense that after something horrible happens, something better should follow?" Even though Mitch and his mother don't get the house next door to his grandparents' house, how do the events in the story substantiate Mitch's reasoning? What "something better" follows Mitch's "something horrible"?

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