ONE

My phone is ringing.

It's 3:29.

In the morning.

The phone keeps ringing. Or not ringing really—the Monk song I have programmed is what's playing, and the notes, the beat, sound sort of sad, sort of mournful, against the bleak-black December night. I groan and fumble around in the sheets. I like to be prepared, so I sleep with my phone beneath my pillow just in case someone calls. No one ever does, of course.

Except for now.

More fumbling, but my fingers find the phone at last. I slide it out and hold it in front of my face. My eyes are bleary and my brain slow, but what I'm seeing on the touch screen finally registers:

Unknown caller.

Okay.

I answer.

"Hello?" I say.

Nothing. I hear nothing.

"Who is this?"

No response, but I press the phone closer to my ear. No one speaks, but I hear something. I do. Short feral bursts of noise. Organic. Like a faint sobbing.

Or laughing.

"Hey," I say, a little louder than before. I want to make sure that I'm heard. "I know you're ...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Is Jamie a sympathetic character? Is Cate?
   


2. Why is Jamie so anxious about Cate getting out of juvenile detention? Do you think it was fair of his parents to keep it a secret from him?
   


3. Under what circumstances do Jamie's hands start to go numb? What do you think is the significance of this?
   


4. What role does memory play in this story? Can you always rely on your memories to be true?
   


5. Do you think Jamie has a good relationship with his adoptive parents? Why doesn't Cate?
   


6. In what ways does Jamie start to uncover clues about his past? How do they change your perception of him?
   


7. What role did poverty play in the circumstances of Jamie and Cate's early childhood?
   


8. What does Cate want from Jamie when she comes back? Is ...