How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky
Lydia Netzer, 2014
St. Martin's Press
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250047021
Summary
Lydia Netzer, the award-winning author of Shine Shine Shine, weaves a mind-bending, heart-shattering love story that asks, “Can true love exist if it’s been planned from birth?”
Like a jewel shimmering in a Midwest skyline, the Toledo Institute of Astronomy is the nation's premier center of astronomical discovery and a beacon of scientific learning for astronomers far and wide. Here, dreamy cosmologist George Dermont mines the stars to prove the existence of God. Here, Irene Sparks, an unsentimental scientist, creates black holes in captivity.
George and Irene are on a collision course with love, destiny and fate. They have everything in common: both are ambitious, both passionate about science, both lonely and yearning for connection. The air seems to hum when they’re together. But George and Irene’s attraction was not written in the stars. In fact their mothers, friends since childhood, raised them separately to become each other's soulmates.
When that long-secret plan triggers unintended consequences, the two astronomers must discover the truth about their destinies, and unravel the mystery of what Toledo holds for them—together or, perhaps, apart.
Lydia Netzer combines a gift for character and big-hearted storytelling, with a sure hand for science and a vision of a city transformed by its unique celestial position, exploring the conflicts of fate and determinism, and asking how much of life is under our control and what is pre-ordained in the heavens. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1971-72
• Where—Detroit, Michigan, USA
• Education—B.A. Bowling Green State University
• Currently—lives in Norfolk, Virginia
In her words:
I was born in Detroit and raised by two public school teachers. We lived in Michigan during the school year, and at an old farm in the hills of western Pennsylvania during school vacations. My world revolved around horses, music, and books. I went to college and grad school in the midwest, met my husband and got married in Chicago, and then moved to Norfolk when we decided to have kids. We have two: a boy and a girl. I homeschool them and taxi them to orchestra rehearsal, the karate dojo, the pony farm, and many music lessons. At our homeschool co-op I teach literature, and I love to travel, knit, play my electric guitar, and of course read. (From the author's website.)
How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky is Lydia's second book; her first is Shine, Shine, Shine (2012).
Book Reviews
Antically inventive, often outrageously funny…Netzer excels at comedy.... [B]ecause we know what will happen to [the characters], some of the suspense and momentum ebbs away. Ultimately, though, Netzer’s fans are likely to be quite entertained by this second charmingly weird novel of hers that grapples with big questions. Is love written in the stars? Where does inspiration come from? Who decides our fates?
Alena Graedon - New York Times Book Review
You’re pulled into the drama through the incredible natural beauty of her writing … deftly and wittily done … people say her style reminds them of Anne Tyler, but she reminded me a little bit more of Don DeLillo.
Liesl Schillinger - New York Times Book Review Podcast
Two star-crossed stargazers twinkle in Lydia Netzer’s spritely How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky.
Wall Street Journal
[A] winning second novel…two flawed souls whose love is as quarky as it is quirky…showing us the redemptive power of love as a truly cosmic force.
Boston Globe
With a title that reads like a line of verse, the novel’s mesmerizing cadence is little surprise. There is a deeper poetry to Netzer’s writing, as well. Netzer exposes the magic in the mundane, the enchantment of the earthbound. Her characters, like us, share space with the stars. Perhaps the most breathtaking revelation of Netzer’s novel is that the world is more dazzling on our side of the atmosphere.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
It’s a lovely summer valentine.
Entertainment Weekly
Netzer’s sophomore effort may be even stronger than her excellent debut. Readers will be unable to stop thinking about this book, stunning in its poignancy, long after the last page has been read. (Top pick-4.5 stars)
Romance Times
Netzer’s star burst into existence with Shine Shine Shine and flares even more brightly in How to Tell Toledo From the Night Sky. Watch her work for further illumination, and pity lesser writers who settle for the commonplace light of ordinary days.
Richmond Times Dispatch
Just the kind of touchingly offbeat stuff you could expect from the author of Shine Shine Shine, a big debut that was a New York Times Notable Book, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist, and more.
Library Journal
(Starred review.) A diverting romp through two generations of well-intentioned friends and lovers...much-anticipated, fabulous second novel.
Booklist
Discussion Questions
1. The mothers in the story plan for their children to grow up to be soulmates. Is this a natural impulse best friends have for their children? Could arranged marriages like this really work in our society?
2. How do you define love? Is it a mystical connection based solely on emotion, or is it a rational decision based on compatibility? A combination of the two? Which is more important?
3. In the book, sleep is a practice for death, and dreaming is compared to the afterlife. Do you believe this? How does dreaming affect the characters’ waking behavior?
4. Characters in the novel can manipulate their dreams after they become aware that they're dreaming. Have you ever been able to control your dreams? Change the course of your dreams?
5. Irene stands on "suicide bridges" as a way to come to grips with her mortality. Is this a morbid behavior? Or is this a positive gesture, a way to come to grips with her mortality in a healthy, life-affirming way? If someone you knew had this habit, would you feel an intervention was needed?
6. What do you know about Toledo, Ohio? What makes Toledo a good setting for this story?
7. Do you think that the ending, for Bernice, is fair? What about for Sally? Does either get what she deserves?
8. How did the way Bernice and Sally raised them affect George and Irene’s career choices and paths? Do mothers have any control over what their kids choose to do later in life? Do you think that's a good thing or a bad thing? What responsibility does a mother have to her children and their happiness?
9. Are you more comfortable believing in astronomy or astrology? Given that astronomers have often been wrong, do you think it's fair to say that science is more trustworthy than faith?
10. Will these two fields of science and belief always be at odds with each other, or is there a way for faith and science to coexist peacefully, in the same Toledo, in the same mind?
11. How is this novel like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet? Consider the balcony scene with Kate Oakenshield and Belion, the sunrise sex scene in the super collider, the swordplay, and the scene at the hospital at the end. Would you say Bernice and Sally's storyline was a comedy or a tragedy? Would you say George and Irene's storyline was a comedy or a tragedy?
12. What do you think happened to George and Irene in the end? Do you think there are multiple ways to read this ending?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
Catching Rain
Sharon Duerst, 2014
White Spring
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780985537821
Summary
Mia Casinelli is captivated by Mexico - a life long-lost and a mysterious woman in her dreams. She sees a future in the smile of a stranger there, but what to do about Gerald back in Oregon?
How can she build a new life with only words and inklings to lead the way?
This book is the sequel to Mending Stones (2012).
Author Bio
• Birth—1955
• Where—the state of Idaho, USA
• Raised—the state of Oregon
• Education—B.S., University of Oregon
• Currently—lives in Bend, Oregon
When not writing or walking or tackling creative challenges, Sharon Duerst enjoys family and friends and many opportunities to appreciate the beauty of nature. After growing up in Idaho and the Columbia River Gorge, Sharon finished college in the Willamette Valley, and started her career in education and long-term care on the Oregon Coast. Now living on the high desert of Central Oregon, with wide spaces of time and landscape to explore, she finds great inspiration in natural environments. (From the author.)
Visit the author's website.
Book Reviews
The following reviews were posted on Goodreads.
I had my coffee and started reading, ate lunch while reading and didn’t stop until reaching the beautiful ending! I laughed…I cried…I rejoiced in how Mia changed her life! I loved this story! It reminded me how important it is to take risks in life and move toward what is wanted— even if not knowing at all where it will lead. Following intuition can be life altering! I feel the characters are friends, and I wonder what is next in their lives! I don’t want to let them go! — Jet McCann
I loved the depth of the story, and the characters! I couldn’t put it down until I finished reading! It was so good! Nothing left out! I loved the ending!! I’m amazed at the places the story went. I want to look up the attractions at the back of the book and plan a Catching Rain Itinerary! — Karen Martell
I could not put this book down! So easy to read…Really flowed. Great story line…Loved reading about the different locations. — Katrena Meyer
“A great book! The poetry is fascinating. I love the travel, and especially being able to relate to all the places in the Pacific Northwest. I also love a great love story, and I needed tissue at the end! — Connie Van Sickle
Catching Rain picks up where Mending Stone left off, tied up loose ends with enough tragedy and heartache, but ends beautifully—exactly where you would want it to! — Debbie Wiemeyer
Love the story—the mystery unfolding about who Mia is…Love the focus on intuition, and attention to dreams and images…Love the relationships…Love the locations…many of my favorite places…the Northwest…San Francisco…Mexico…What a lovely story! I loved reading this book! — Maria Carlos
Discussion Questions
1. What part does intuition play in the plot?
2. Do you see growth in Mia?
3. How does the environment in Mexico influence Mia?
4. What do you find surprising or shocking?
5. Do you think Mia will continue writing? Or was it only part of her processing—a necessary step in her evolving thoughts and healing?
6. Did you enjoy the travel features?
7. What is your favorite part of the story?
8. Who do you think is the wisest character?
9. Who is your favorite character? Why?
10. Do you believe in fate? Divine intervention? Prayer?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)
Mending Stone
Sharon Duerst, 2012
White Spring
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780985537807
Summary
Something is amiss in the "good life" of “Mia” Casinelli Edwards. Unable to shake her devastation after the loss of a baby, Mia is haunted by dreams of a mysterious woman.
Compelled into action, Mia makes a shocking discovery. She leaves her husband, Tim, and their Portland, Oregon business in shambles, and finds herself miles away, bruised and shaking in the bed of a stranger. But even strong and gentle Gerald can't quell her growing disquiet.
Disturbing questions, odd clues, and a nagging voice inside lead Mia to Mexico in search of someone, somewhere, with answers.
Catching Rain (2014) is the sequel to Mending Stone.
Watch the book video.
Author Bio
• Birth—1955
• Where—the state of Idaho, USA
• Raised—the state of Oregon
• Education—B.S., University of Oregon
• Currently—lives in Bend, Oregon
When not writing or walking or tackling creative challenges, Sharon Duerst enjoys family and friends and many opportunities to appreciate the beauty of nature. After growing up in Idaho and the Columbia River Gorge, Sharon finished college in the Willamette Valley, and started her career in education and long-term care on the Oregon Coast. Now living on the high desert of Central Oregon, with wide spaces of time and landscape to explore, she finds great inspiration in natural environments. (From the author.)
Visit the author's website.
Book Reviews
More than 50 READERS - including book club members and writers' groups - have commented or written REVIEWS on Facebook, email, and Amazon!!! Some are listed here:
Mending Stone warmed my heart. It filled my spirit with uplifting whispers of the oft times mystical bond between mother and child, the reality of intuition, and the wisdom of listening to and following your heart. — Sue Patton Thoele, author of The Mindful Woman
It is REALLY good. I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen! It reminds me of a Nicholas Sparks story. And everyone can relate to characters looking to find "sweetness." — Judy Bair
An enthralling read! Well researched, richly descriptive in a unique writing style fitting the story. I wanted to keep reading! — Lisa Anderson, freelance writer/reviewer
A very real account of a woman struggling with grief and self-discovery. Vivid descriptions with true-to-life experiences. The poetry added a thoughtful angle to what was happening. I enjoyed the story within a story. I put the book aside with 36 pages left to read—I didn’t want the story to end! A wonderful book! I can’t wait for the next one. — Simone Neall
A captivating story—it took me to unknown places that now seem familiar. — Karen Martell
Beautiful. Descriptive. And touching. A perfect read with love, death, mystery, thrills, and humor. A must read for anyone who loves the craft of writing and a spellbinding story. — JD
I enjoyed reading this story of a woman learning what it means to have loved and lost, and to travel a path to understanding, healing, and strength. My favorite scene involves her finally claiming her power. And, I loved discovering the answers to the mystery of her family. — Maria Carlos
Enjoyable. Thought provoking. I found myself asking, "What if..." — Shari Austin
Part romance...Scenes with Gerald are full of sexual tension and intrigue; a reader can't help but fall for him...Landscapes are vivid...The mystery unfolds in snippets...Engaging story with developed characters and a sweet satisfying ending! — GH
Excellent. Fabulous. I will read it again! And I want to send a copy to several family members. — Kathryn Olmstead, senior reader
The descriptive vision brings us directly into the story. I love the interplay of storylines. We’re carried with excellent detail into the dramatic story of Rosa, the pace of her hard life. A fun book to read! — Diane Conroy
I loved it! The story held me to the very end—and then, I cried. — Anna Aram
A spiritual journey pebbled with friends, family, and Native Americans, from the Pacific Northwest to Texas. — Ginger Dehlinger, author of Brute Heart
I finished Mending Stone in one day! I loved it! I can’t wait for the sequel to see what else happens! — Jet McCann
Reading late into the night, I had to know: why were the two women brought together in such a haunting way? So many questions drew me from page to page to page! The ending was satisfying and sweet—but still I want more! — AnnaMariah Nau
Portraits of betrayal, friendship, and loss—with a satisfying outcome of hope. — Debbie Wiemeyer, avid reader & former library worker
A gem of a read. It was well written and very descriptive. It reinforced my sense that women should rely on their instincts. I can’t wait to read more about Mia and Gerald in the next book. — Kay DeBast
I couldn’t put the book down! — Kathy Bingham
Sharon...Just finished your book, reading the last 1/3 in one sitting! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and can't wait for more! — Dianne Espy
Loved your book, read the first 50 pages (in the car) between The Dalles and the Oregon Coast. I can't believe this is your first book! It is so good! I know I will love the sequel, too! — Janet Clark Thomas
Hi Sharon, I started your book this weekend and could not put it down and finished quickly. It was really good and you are very talented. Is there a sequel? It would be read! MOVE over Danielle Steel! WOW Sharon... — Katrena Meyer
Very engaging! I really enjoyed it! An interesting adventure! — Bradley Lorang
Sharon, this is a haunting story that has triggered all manner of questions for me! I paid very little attention to my parents' stories when I was growing up and now they are not available to tell their tales. I found Mia's journey riveting, not just the sleuthing out her roots, but her reflections on her relationships and development of new ones. What a gifted storyteller you are. Thank you. — CP
Great job! Can't wait for the sequel! This book brought back great memories of the area I'm from. — Connie Van Sickle
Haunting. This book cast a spell over me and drew me through Mia's story like a magnet. Hers is a calling that we can relate to, but not many of us have the courage to pursue. Thanks to the author for such a compelling read. — NW, Amazon customer
I'm reading your book and enjoying it. I have friends standing in line to read it. — MB
Nice little touches. Romance is definitely part of it...A slight overlay of fate...Nicely done...Wonderful descriptions. — Rodger Nichols, Haystack Broadcasting
Discussion Questions
1. What is unique about this story?
2. How does setting influence the mood and action?
3. Questions of faith, fidelity, heritage and lifestyle plague the characters. Can you relate to their challenges?
4. Does anything in the novel “speak” to you?
5. What recurring themes do you notice?
6. Do you find anything surprising or disturbing?
7. What do you like about this story, or characters?
8. Do you have lingering questions?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)
Into the Night Sky
Caroline Finnerty, 2014
Poolbeg Press
326 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781781999929
Summary
Conor Fahy, owner of a struggling bookshop, is finding it hard to cope in the aftermath of his partner Leni’s tragic death. His friend Ella Wilde tries to be supportive but is herself in a fragile mental state—she has just been axed from her job as a TV presenter, having been caught shoplifting.
Then eight-year-old Jack White walks into Conor’s bookshop and settles down on the floor to read. Jack likes Ben 10, Giant Jawbreakers and Ronaldo. He likes his dad (when he doesn’t shout) but he doesn’t like the bad bugs that are eating up his ma inside her tummy.
Conor listens to the talkative boy but finds it hard to piece together what is really happening in his life. He is particularly mystified by Jack’s intense resentment of a woman called Rachel Traynor, not realising that she is a social worker assigned to Jack’s case and that Jack’s fate hangs in the balance.
They must each learn the healing power of love, and the need to let the past go and turn to the future. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—November 6, 1980
• Where—Kildare, Ireland
• Education—N/A
• Currently—Kildare, Ireland
Caroline Finnerty is an Irish author and freelance writer living on the banks of the Grand Canal in the County Kildare countryside with her husband, their three young children and their dog. She is the author of In a Moment, The Last Goodbye, and Into the Night Sky. She also compiled the charity anthology If I Was a Child Again in aid of Barnardos.
Caroline has written articles for The Irish Daily Mail, The Star, Woman’s Way Magazine, as well as several parenting magazines. (From the author.)
Visit the author's website.
Follow Caroline on Facebook.
Book Reviews
Impossible to put down.
Irish Independent
Discussion Questions
1. Did you feel empathy for Ella’s situation initially? What about afterwards?
2. There is strong use of imagery of the sea in Ella’s story, specifically her Martello Tower home situated on the rocks in Dublin Bay. Do you think that was intentional and does it add to the story?
3. Conor and Ella have been friends for a long time and share a close bond, do you think friendships between men and women can ever be truly platonic?
4. Rachel and Marcus have a seemingly perfect relationship except for the fact that he doesn’t want to have any more children. He is adamant that it is unfair to bring a child into the world when he doesn’t want it. Do you agree with this belief or do you think he should have relented so he could hold onto Rachel?
5. What did you think of John-Paul’s relationship with his son?
6. Do you agree with John-Paul’s solicitor when he argues in court that society has a natural bias towards women as mother figures?
7. Ella and her sister Andrea have very different attitudes to their mother’s desertion of their family as children. Why do you think this is?
8. Do you agree with Ella’s assertion that "every action has an equal and opposite reaction," i.e. that we must suffer the consequences of our actions?
9. Rachel mentions that you wouldn’t do her job if you didn’t have hope that people can change. How important is it to have this attitude in our everyday lives?
10. Who saves whom in this novel?
11. Which character do you think grew the most over the course of the story and why?
12. What do you think the future holds for Jack?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)
Going on Nine
Catherine Underhill Fitzpatrick, 2014
Familius
256 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781939629128
Summary
At the dawn of a heat-soaked St. Louis summer, in a suburban neighborhood no different from any other, eight-year-old Grace Mitchell embarks on a doomed quest, searching for what is right under her nose: A better family than her own wonderful family.
As the summer of 1956 stretches, long and languid, before them, Grace and her pals on Thistle Way are soon virtually feral, roaming unfettered from apricot dawn to lavender dusk. They entertain themselves by popping tar bubbles in the street, playing tag across eight back yards, plundering forts in the verges and catching tadpoles in creeks, by swiping Popsicle from freezers humming in musty darkness and snatching root beer barrels from open boxes up at Snyder’s Five and Dime. It’s the suburbs, and the Fifties.
The mothers and fathers of Thistle Way do not hover, counting their children’s every breath. One day in early June, Grace swipes her mother’s diamond engagement ring, snatches her sister’s new white nightgown, and runs outside to play bride. In short order, she loses the ring, rips the gown, correctly assumes it’s about to rain daggers, and marches off to find somewhere else to live, somewhere better. When her parents, in their wisdom, suggest Grace test the waters by spending two nights with each family on Thistle Way, the child bolts upstairs to pack her red plaid suitcase.
Going on Nine is the story of an eight-year-old girl’s serial encampments as she samples life within the households of a dozen friends and neighbors―each at a turning point. On her journeys, Grace travels on foot and on horseback, rides shotgun in a new Plymouth Belvedere and hunkers in the back of a rattletrap vegetable truck. One day she crawls into a crumbling tunnel. Following that, she treks out to a fire in the hinterlands, explores the closet of a prom queen, keeps vigil in the bedroom of a molestation victim, tames a killer dog, and holds an old woman’s life in the palm of her hand. With good reason, Grace remembers that long-ago summer for the rest of her life, and looks back on it with wise perspective as a mature woman decades later.
At summer’s end, the Mitchell family moves to a new neighborhood. With her days on Thistle Way drawing to a close, Grace is devastated. But she’s learned a timeless truth: Families and friendships are nuanced in ways imperceptible to their neighbors, judging at a distance.
Written for adult readers, each chapter of Going on Nine is a story unto itself, told in the unique, real-time voice of eight-year-old Grace and, alternately, in wise hindsight by the adult Grace today.
Peppered with humor, leavened with adversity, nostalgic but not cloying, Going on Nine explores universal themes of childhood longing and parental love, and shows the 1950s for what they truly were―an era as fabled and flawed as any other.
Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—St. Louis, Missouri, USA
• Education—B.J., University of Missouri, Columbia
• Currently—lives in Chicago, Illinois, and Bonita Springs, Florida
Catherine Underhill Fitzpatrick was born, reared, and schooled during the 1950s and 1960s in and around St. Louis, the second of six kids in her family. After graduating from the University Of Missouri-Columbia School Of Journalism, she worked on the features staff of metro daily newspapers in Hannibal, St. Louis, and Milwaukee.
In September of 2001, Catherine was in Manhattan to cover New York Fashion Week. At first word of the terrorist attacks, she rushed to Ground Zero and filed award-winning eyewitness dispatches from the chaotic streets near the tragedy. Today, portions of her reportage are memorialized in Washington D.C.’s Newseum and in the archives of the Women in Journalism Collection of the State Historical Society of Missouri.
Catherine’s articles, stories, and essays have appeared in five anthologies, in online literary reviews, and in national magazines. The author of two published novels, she is a board member of the Chicago-based TallGrass Writers Guild. She and her husband have two daughters and last summer welcomed into the breathing world their first granddaughter, Lillian. Catherine and Dennis divide their time between rush hour traffic in Chicago and fairway bunkers in Bonita Springs, FL. (From the author.)
Visit the author's website.
Follow Catherine on Facebook.
Book Reviews
A child swipes her mother's ring, snatches her sister's nightgown, and runs outside to play "bride." She soon loses the ring, rips the gown, correctly assumes it's about to rain daggers, and runs away from home to find a better; family. What happens next is a summer-long journey in which Grace Mitchell rides shotgun in a Plymouth Belvedere, and hunkers in the back of a rattletrap vegetable truck, crawls into a crumbling tunnel, dresses up with a prom queen, and keeps vigil in the bedroom of a molestation victim. There are reasons why Grace remembers the summer of 1956 for the rest of her life. Through the eyes of a child and the mature woman she becomes, we make the journey with Grace and discover important truths about life, equality, family, and the soul-searching quest for belonging.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Going on Nine....is set in Underhill Fitzpatrick's native St. Louis. Alternating between the childhood voice of 8-year-old heroine Grace Mitchell and the character's adult self, it follows Grace through an idyllic summer in 1956.... The theme that runs through the whole book and is absolutely from my childhood is how unstructured and unfettered we were as children in the '50s," Underhill Fitzpatrick said. Through the novel, Grace finds humor and danger as she lives with other families in an effort to escape her own. "Grace learns families and friendships are nuanced," Underhill Fitzpatrick said. "They were likelier than not to be misjudged by those observing them at a distance."
Ft. Myers FL News Press
[B]eautifully-written tale of a young girl coming of age in the summer of 1956. Reminiscent of Ray Bradbury’s classic, Dandelion Wine, Going on Nine takes readers on an unforgettable journey back in time to an era of drinking from garden hoses, catching fireflies in jars, licking cake batter from wooden spoons and enjoying the unbridled freedom to explore the world and all its wonders.”
Island Reporter (Florida)
Fitzpatrick… attended summer camp regularly as a child and as a teen in Missouri, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, culminating her summer camp career as a counselor, where she taught archery. Later, she sent her two daughters to Camp Minnikani on Amy Belle Lake, and has recently written a novel, Going on Nine.... The book written for adult readers, recounts the adventures of Grace Mitchell during the summer of 1956, including a stint at summer camp.
M Milwaukee Magazine
Discussion Questions
1. Grace Mitchell is meant to embody many of the aspects of a child of eight (going on nine). Give examples from the story that illustrate her personal strengths and her weaknesses.
2. Going on Nine is told from two perspectives: the adult Grace looking back on the summer of 1956, and the child Grace experiencing it. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this dual-timeline format? In what ways would the story have been different if it were told only from the child’s viewpoint?
3. Except for three chapters, the entire story takes place on Thistle Way, a quiet neighborhood in a suburb of St. Louis. Why do you think the author chose this location?
4. Going on Nine is imbued with a sense of time. The Fifties is a fabled era in the communal memory, but one that, in reality, was as flawed as any other. Give examples from the story that illustrate this.
5. At the beginning of the summer, Grace yearns to live with a family that’s “better” than her own. Give examples of how the Mitchells are, in fact, a pretty terrific family.
6. Each stop along Grace’s journey is a story unto itself, peopled with characters in turning-point situations. Which character or family did you find most memorable and why? Which characters or families does Grace discover are different from how the neighbors of Thistle Way perceive them?
7. Several chapters deal with sensitive and even tragic events. How do think these events affected the story, which is essentially sweet and nostalgic?
8. In the end, Grace comes to realize that the place she belongs—the place she wants to be—is with her own wonderful family. In a coming-of-age novel, we more or less expect this. What revelations in the Epilogue did you not expect?
9) At age eight, going on nine, Grace had mastered the art of making excuses for her behavior. In several instances, the adult Grace acknowledges that, ruefully. “It was not my finest hour,” she says at one point. Did Going on Nine bring back remembrances of your own childhood? Does the long lens of time afford a clearer view about that period of your life?
10. Many novelists draw on their personal observances and experiences in developing plots and characters. In the Author’s Note, Catherine Underhill Fitzpatrick mentions that a few aspects of Grace’s life seem to track with her own childhood. What are the risks in writing a novel that reads like a memoir? How is this different from writing an autobiography? A biography?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)