Reading Guide Questions

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. In the beginning of Follow Me to Ground, Rainsford sets out the rules of this magical universe: Cures, The Ground, the process of healing the townspeople. How do you understand the dimensions of Ada and her father's work?
2. The novel is interspersed with chapters from the point of view of the townspeople. What purpose do these passages serve?
3. How does Ada's relationship with Samson begin?
4. When Olivia comes in to be cured, does she reveal anything to Ada?
5. How did Ada come to be? She believes that she "hadn't gone quite to plan" (page 56). What does this mean?
6. Ada's father believes that it's Samson's "sickness that makes [him] want [her]" (page 81). What do you think Samson's "sickness" is?
7. How does Ada come to a decision about her relationship with Samson? How do her father's wishes, and Olivia's interference, influence her choice?
8. Describe Ada's interaction with Miss Gedeo, and then with Lorraine Languid. What do they seem to want from her?
9. Do you believe that Ada and her father are helping the townspeople?
10. What's the result of Ada's final conversation with her father, and why?
11. The novel ends at a moment of transformation and uncertainty. What do you think happens to Ada after the last page?

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