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When I saw my first palm tree, I almost died of disappointment. It wasn't on a tiny island. It didn't have coconuts under its fronds or monkeys clinging to its trunk. That palm tree failed me.

The tree lived in Beaufort, South Carolina, in my grandparents' backyard, and the letdown I felt over its lack of picture-book clichés is my earliest memory of that place. I must have been three or four. It was the same trip I met the ocean at Hunting Island State Park. I waded into the salt water. Tasted it on my fingers. Scanned the surface for sharks. Thought every dolphin and hunk of driftwood was a shark, which sent me screaming and splashing back to the beach.

I spent languid afternoons with my sisters catching chameleons. We put the lizards in a box and named them. Took the box inside to show the adults. And under strict and often shrieked orders, carried the box back outside to let the creatures go. The chameleons turned brown on the palm tree's trunk or green if set on a leaf. ...

Please be aware that this discussion guide may contain spoilers!

1. At the center of Carolina Moonset are multiple murder mysteries. Who did you originally think the perpetrators were, and what did you think their motives were?
2. What makes Joey and Leela so compatible? What enables them to bring out the best in each other? What distinctions did you notice in their personalities and family histories?
3. What is the effect of seeing the storyline through Joey's eyes? How might the perceptions have been different if Leela or Ruby had narrated this tale?
4. How did your perceptions of Thomas and Gail Hammond shift when more of their past was revealed? Is money the root of their power, or is power the root of their wealth? How does Trip Patterson's fate illustrate the class divisions within their community? ...