Take Me With You (Hyde) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher. In the meantime, use these LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for Take Me With You...then take off on your own:

1. A journey in literature is a classic metaphor for an inward journey (think The Odyssey). In what way is August's trip in Take Me With You an emotional or psychological one? Describe August Schroeder's state of mind at the beginning of the novel and how he changes by the end of the trip.

2. What kind of father is Wes and what is his relationship with his sons?

3. Why does August initially decline to take Seth and Henry with him to Yellowstone? What causes him to change his mind? Is it simply a matter of money?

4. How would you describe the two boys, Seth and Henry, and their relationship as brothers. Why doesn't Henry talk?

5. Then there's Woody—can't forget him. How does he fit into the mix?

6.Talk about the budding relationship among August and the Seth and Henry. Trace its development as they open up to one another. What did you find most affecting?

7. What role does the natural world play in this book in terms of healing? If you are a hiker or spend time outdoors, how well does Catherine Ryan Hyde epict the wonders of Yellowstone National Park? Does the fact that the author herself is a lover of the outdoors—as a kyaker, hiker, and dog lover—come through in her writing?

8. Addiction plays a large part in this novel: both August and Wes suffer from it. How does August work through his own problems with alcohol, and how does he help the boys understand their father's addition?

9. How does the trip eight years later repeat similar themes of the first trip? What has changed—or who has changed—and in what ways?

10. The book asks an important question about what consititues family. Is family what you are born into, or can you create your own? If so, how?

11. Were you satisfied with the novel's conclusion?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online of off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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