Rabbit Cake (Hartnett) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
1. What did you think of Mrs. Bernstein's therapy sessions? Is she a good guidance counselor?

2. Do you think it helped or hurt Elvis to have the grieving chart? Do you think 18 months is a realistic time to spend grieving someone?

3. Do you think Elvis emphasizes more with animals than she does with humans? Why?

4. The parrot, Ernest Hemingway, becomes a key member of the family. What did you think of the parrot's role in the family?

5. Why did Lizzie bake rabbit cakes? Was it really about the Guinness World Record?

6. Should the father have gone to get Lizzie after she ran away with Soda? If you were Lizzie's parent, what would you have done?

7. Vanessa is a self-proclaimed pathological liar. Do you think she's the only character in the book that lies? How reliable are the stories that the characters tell?

8. What did you think of the religious elements in the book, such as the Ocean Jesus statue and the mother's belief in reincarnation? Did religion help Elvis cope with her mother's death?

9. Should the Babbitts have had a proper funeral for the mother? Was that a mistake that the father made?

10. Elvis has felt overshadowed by Lizzie her entire life. How did Elvis come into her own by the end of the novel? How did she become her own animal?

11. What do you think the Babbitts will be up to 20 years from now? What will Elvis be like as an adult?
(Questions found on the author's website.)

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