The Association of Small Bombs
Karan Mahajan, 2016
Penguin Publishing
288 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780525429630
Summary
Nominated, 2016 National Book Awards
An expansive and deeply humane novel that is at once groundbreaking in its empathy, dazzling in its acuity, and ambitious in scope.
When brothers Tushar and Nakul Khurana, two Delhi schoolboys, pick up their family’s television set at a repair shop with their friend Mansoor Ahmed one day in 1996, disaster strikes without warning.
A bomb—one of the many "small" bombs that go off seemingly unheralded across the world—detonates in the Delhi marketplace, instantly claiming the lives of the Khurana boys, to the devastation of their parents.
Mansoor survives, bearing the physical and psychological effects of the bomb. After a brief stint at university in America, Mansoor returns to Delhi, where his life becomes entangled with the mysterious and charismatic Ayub, a fearless young activist whose own allegiances and beliefs are more malleable than Mansoor could imagine.
Woven among the story of the Khuranas and the Ahmeds is the gripping tale of Shockie, a Kashmiri bomb maker who has forsaken his own life for the independence of his homeland.
Karan Mahajan writes brilliantly about the effects of terrorism on victims and perpetrators, proving himself to be one of the most provocative and dynamic novelists of his generation. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth— April 24, 1984
• Where—Stamford, Connecticut, USA
• Raised—New Dehli, India
• Education—B.A., Stanford University
• Awards—Joseph Henry Jackson Award
• Currently—lives in Austin, Texas
Karan Mahajan was born in 1984 and grew up in New Delhi, India. He attained a degree in English and economics from Stanford University.
Mahajan's 2008 novel, Family Planning (2010, U.S.) won the Joseph Henry Jackson Award and was a finalist for the International Dylan Thomas Prize. It was published in nine countries. The Association of Small Bombs, his second novel, was released in 2016.
His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR’s All Things Considered, New Yorker (online), Believer, Paris Review Daily, and Bookforum. A graduate of Stanford University and the Michener Center for Writers, he lives in Austin, Texas. (Adapted from the publisher.)
Book Reviews
The Association of Small Bombs, is wonderful...is smart, devastating, unpredictable and enviably adept in its handling of tragedy and its fallout. If you enjoy novels that happily disrupt traditional narratives — about grief, death, violence, politics — I suggest you go out and buy this one. Post haste.
Fiona Maazel - New York Times Book Review
Brilliant.... Mr. Mahajan’s writing is acrid and bracing, tightly packed with dissonant imagery.... The Association of Small Bombs is not the first novel about the aftermath of a terrorist attack, but it is the finest I’ve read at capturing the seduction and force of the murderous, annihilating illogic that increasingly consumes the globe.
Sam Sacks - Wall Street Journal
[A] beautifully written novel.... Ambitious.... Carries us deep into the human side of a tragedy.
Washington Post
Karan Mahajan’s The Association of Small Bombs urgently depicts the toll of terrorism on victims and perpetrators.
Vanity Fair
Besides having one of the most instantly memorable titles for a novel in recent memory, Karan Mahajan’s new novel explores the life of a young man in the aftermath of a horrific event that takes the life of two of his friends. With a story that crosses continents and addresses questions of nationalism, terrorism, and the effects of violence, this novel seems ready to engage with some of our era’s looming issues.
Vol. 1 Brooklyn
Mahajan’s talent is in conveying the sense that the world is gray, not black-and-white, and he accomplishes this by weaving together the evolving motives and passions of his characters so intricately that in the end we see each as culpable, and human.... [S]earing. (Mar.)
Publishers Weekly
[A] broad array of story lines connected to a 1996 detonation of a small but potent bomb in a humble Delhi marketplace.... The anchoring characters are Mansoor and Shockie, a Kashmiri bomb maker who...worries about his victims and his ill mother. Mahajan’s terrorists and social activists are never content to settle into one venue or mindset.
Booklist
Mahajan's effort to make a thriller out of the story...can feel pat.... But he's strong at exploring the very long shockwaves of small-scale violence:... a devastating cruelty for upending lives to no useful political purpose.... An engaging if plot-thick novel that's alert to the intersection of the emotional and political.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available. In the meantime use these LitLovers talking points to kick start a discussion for The Association of Small Bombs, then take off on your own...
1. It seems easy at times for those of us who live in western societies to ignore or, worse, seem not to care about bombings that occur in Africa, the Middle East, or South Asia. But The Association of Small Bombs insists that we must care. Has reading the novel changed the way you view distant events?
2. A great deal of thought has gone into what inspires terrorists. In both Shockie and Malik, and later Ayub, the author attempts to present bomb makers/terrorists who readers may find sympathetic. Do you? Does the book provide insights into a terrorist's psyche or motivations? Are terrorists monsters or sociopathic killers?
3. Talk about the different phases and shapes of grief that Mansoor and the Khuranas experience as they attempt to cope with the loss of Tushar and Nakul. Why, for instance, in the immediate aftermath of the bombing, does Mansoor walk away from the bodies of his friends? Consider Vikas' obsession to film Delhi markets, his need perhaps to "hide" behind his camera.
4. Follow-up to Question 3: How, in particular, does the death of their children undermine the Khuranas' marriage? Were there visible rifts before the bombings?
5. In his grief, Vikas thinks to himself:
When things are good, you can think of no other way of living; when things are in ruins, there appear a million solutions for how this fate could have been avoided.
Is this a thought pattern common to most of us? Do we often reflect on how our troubles might have been prevented, how we might have done things differently; by the same token, how typical is it to accept, without questioning, our good fortune?
6. Talk about Ayub and his influence over Mansoor? Describe how he helps Mansoor heal, both physically (using visualization and holistic techniques) and spiritually (turning to prayer). What about the young men's faith?—Ayub's belief, for instance, that "prayer keeps keeps you focused on the eternal present." Would you consider Aybu and Mansoor's faith radical Islam...or is it more nuanced?
7. Six years later, when he learns he is permanently impaired, Mansoor feels rage toward Vikas and Deepra Khurana. "Why," he wonders, "had they been so irresponsible—with him in particular?" He recalls that Uncle Vikas had "perversely cajoled him into going with Tushar and Nakul to the market" (p. 162). Is he right to blame the Khuranas for what happened? Should the adults have been more cautious?
8. The Association of Small Bombs makes comparisons between the life of the West with its emphasis on individualism and materialism and the traditional Indian values. Some of the evidence is persuasive. On the other hand, we are also shown an India beset with an responsive political system, a corrupt justice system, sectarian violence, and dire poverty. Is there justification for either view point?
8. Discuss the underlying motivations of the terrorists in the novel. In The Association of Small Bombs, they don't seem to murder in the name of Allah; instead, they seem more politically motivated. What are the issues?
9. One of the major questions posed by the book is this: how can people force governments to address their grievances? After the failure of the protest organized by Ayub and Tara, Ayub wonders whether peaceful protest has any affect: "What would Gandhi do if he were alive today? Would the press even notice him?" Ayub, once a staunch believer in nonviolence, comes to believe that violent, not peaceful, methods bring change. Later, however, at the end of the book, he thinks of a bomb as a "child. A tantrum directed at all things." What do you think?
10. Think about the title: what is its significance? What are the various meanings of "small bombs"? Consider the line that Vikas says toward the end of the book, after he and Deepra form their Association: "The deadliness of an attack should not be measured by its size."
11. Does The Association of Small Bombs offer any path for hope?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online of off, with attribution. Thanks.)
Flight of Dreams
Ariel Lawhon, 2016
Knopf Doubleday
336 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780385540025
Summary
On the evening of May 3rd, 1937, ninety-seven people board the Hindenburg for its final, doomed flight to Lakehurst, New Jersey.
Among them are a frightened stewardess who is not what she seems; the steadfast navigator determined to win her heart; a naive cabin boy eager to earn a permanent spot on the world’s largest airship; an impetuous journalist who has been blacklisted in her native Germany; and an enigmatic American businessman with a score to settle.
Over the course of three hazy, champagne-soaked days their lies, fears, agendas, and hopes for the future are revealed.
Flight of Dreams is a fiercely intimate portrait of the real people on board the last flight of the Hindenburg. Behind them is the gathering storm in Europe and before them is looming disaster. But for the moment they float over the Atlantic, unaware of the inexorable, tragic fate that awaits them.
Brilliantly exploring one of the most enduring mysteries of the twentieth century, Flight of Dreams is that rare novel with spellbinding plotting that keeps you guessing till the last page and breathtaking emotional intensity that stays with you long after. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Ariel Lawhon is co-founder of the popular online book club, She Reads, a novelist, blogger, and life-long reader. She lives in the rolling hills outside Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and four young sons (aka The Wild Rumpus).
Lawhon's first novel, The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress (2014) is centered around the still-unsolved disappearance of New York State Supreme Court Judge, Joseph Crater. Ariel believes that Story is the shortest distance to the human heart.
Her second novel, Flight of Dreams (2016) is a fictional exploration of the mystery behind the the 1937 Hindenberg blimp explosion. I Was Anastasia (2018), Lawhon's third novel, follows Anna Anderson, who claimed to be Anastasia Romonov, the lone survivor of the execution of the Czar of Russia and his family. (From the author's website.)
Book Reviews
The novel beautifully exploits the unique, excruciating kind of suspense in which the poor horrified reader knows from the start exactly what’s going to happen. Well, maybe not exactly….Under Lawhon’s revolving spotlight, we are introduced to a carousel of suspicious characters…so as the zeppelin cruises serenely through the clouds the earthbound reader ricochets from distrust to uncertainty to outright foreboding. At every page a guilty secret bobs up; at every page Lawhon keeps us guessing. Who will bring down the Hindenburg? And how?
New York Times Book Review
An enthralling nail-biter…Almost 80 years after the Hindenburg’s fiery end in a New Jersey airfield, Lawhon reimagines the downing of the Nazi zeppelin...[E]verything points to the inevitable disaster – but you’re still on the edge of your seat.
People Magazine
Lawhon builds the narrative on facts...then propels the story forward with the thrust of fiction. This is a novel made all the more readable by weaving its way through a riveting historical event… Flight of Dreams may be viewed as a "Titanic" of the skies. Lawhon's novel, however, needs no such comparison. It has ample emotional fuel to sail on its own, even knowing its spectacular end.
Associated Press
Lawhon deftly braids together the complex threads of her characters' stories, narrating via a keenly observed third-person voice. Her taut prose and subtle plotting create a gripping narrative, rich with historical detail and spiked with plenty of surprises even for those who know the Hindenburg's fate.... [R]eaders will find themselves unable to look away.
Shelf Awareness
Lawhon...reimagines a front-page news event, filling in the entertaining backstory with passion, secrets, and nail-biting suspense.... [She] threads many stories together, connecting passengers and crew and bringing behind-the-scenes depth and humanity to a great 20th-century tragedy—even though we all know the Hindenburg’s fate.
Publishers Weekly
The crew and passengers and some of the conversations were plucked directly from historical accounts, although they never quite come to life as real people here; the clever banter, elaborate plot twists, and period detail will be appreciated by lovers of historical fiction. —Elizabeth Safford, Boxford Town Lib., MA
Library Journal
As the disaster inches closer with every chapte...Lawhon evokes the airborne luxury of the ship...in such detail that you end up feeling a little sad that the stately flight of the Hindenberg marked the end of passenger travel by airship forever. A clever, dramatic presentation of a tragic historical event. Suspenseful and fun.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also, consider these LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for Flight of Dreams...and then take off on your own:
1. Lawhon tells the story of the Hindenberg's flight through a handful of characters. Whose story, and personality, were most clearly developed. Which characters were most sympathetic, and who did you first suspect might be responsible for the disaster? Were you rooting the survival of any over the others...or for all equally?
2. Talk about the travel onboard the Hindenberg: the meals, the cocktails, the smoking room, and the service.
3. Do a little research into the current theories to explain the cause of the explosion? How and why does Lawhon upend those theories?
4. How is the author able to create such suspense in a story for which every reader knows the outcome?
5. Do you see any parallels with Flight of Dreams and the 1997 movie The Titanic?
(We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher.)
The Wedding Wedding
Rachel Hauck, 2012
Thomas Nelson
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781595549631
Summary
Four brides. One Dress—a tale of faith, redemption, and timeless love.
Charlotte owns a chic Birmingham bridal boutique. Dressing brides for their big day is her gift...and her passion. But with her own wedding day approaching, why can’t she find the perfect dress…or feel certain she should marry Tim?
Then Charlotte discovers a vintage dress in a battered trunk at an estate sale. It looks brand-new—shimmering with pearls and satin, hand-stitched and timeless in its design.
But where did it come from? Who wore it? Who welded the lock shut and tucked the dog tags in that little sachet? Who left it in the basement for a ten-year-old girl? And what about the mysterious man in the purple vest who insists the dress had been “redeemed.”
Charlotte’s search for the gown’s history—and its new bride—begins as a distraction from her sputtering love life. But it takes on a life of its own as she comes to know the women who have worn the dress. Emily from 1912. Mary Grace from 1939. Hillary from 1968. Each with her own story of promise, pain, and destiny.
And each with something unique to share. For woven within the threads of the beautiful hundred-year-old gown is the truth about Charlotte’s heritage, the power of courage and faith, and the timeless beauty of finding true love. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Rachel Hauck is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author of The Wedding Dress, which was also named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times and was a RITA finalist. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and two pets and writes from her ivory tower. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
Charlotte Malone...discovers a beautiful hundred-year-old wedding gown in a battered trunk with a welded lock, she’s compelled to uncover the mystery of the dress.... Although her portrayals of the story’s elderly female characters are sometimes a bit “gushy,” they simply add to the charm.
AudioFile
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also, consider these talking points to help start a discussion for The Wedding Dress...then take off on your own:
1. Consider each of the three wearers of the wedding dress—Emily, Mary Grace, and Hillary—and their stories. Talk about their personalities: is there one you identify with or prefer over the others? Also discuss the challenges and the uncertainties each faces.
2. Do you understand Charlotte's indecisiveness at the beginning of the novel? What are her concerns over marrying Tim? What do you think of Tim at the onset of the book, and does you opinion change? As Charlotte begins to solve the mysteries behind the dress, how do the revelations help, even change, her?
3. The stories are told from varying points of view, including Daniel and Tim. Were you able to keep the stories and voices straight? What do all the perspectives add the the overall story?
4. Had you figured out the mystery of the dress...or were you surprised?
5. Talk about the man in the purple vest.
(We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher. In the meantime feel free to use these, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
Desire's Dilemma: Elizabeth's Story (New Girl Series, 1)
K.T. Moore, 2015
Maddox & Moore Publishing
157 pp.
ASIN: B015HVN3BY (ebook)
Summary
Elizabeth thought she had a pretty good life; a good husband, wonderful son, nice house and a job she really enjoys.
When her husband announces however, he wants a divorce and that his mistress is pregnant, the shock of hearing this shakes Elizabeth to her very core and in the process of trying to escape the overwhelming flood of emotions bursting out of her, she runs straight into handsome stranger Daniel Rushton, who will have a key part to play in her future.
The insatiable attraction she feels for Daniel almost from that first encounter makes it hard for her to resist him and soon she no longer wants to fight it. Whilst she might be a woman in her mid-thirties, her inexperience sexually has her feeling out of her depth with this titan of industry and of the billionaires’ social circuit, but she is more than a willing participant and is a very fast learner in the bedroom, and everywhere else they find themselves.
Daniel couldn’t avoid the desire he felt from the moment the blonde goddess ran into him. There was something so sad in her eyes that it touched his soul and created an undeniable urge in him to be with her.
Trouble was, he was new to the city and didn’t know anything about her, including her name. All he knew for certain was he wanted to see her again so when fate made them collide once more, he knew it was a sign they were destined to be good together. He liked her quirkiness and how she reacted to him, especially when she got flustered.
Most of the women he met were pretty sure of themselves and came across shallow and self-absorbed. Elizabeth, his Elizabeth, however, was someone who honestly had no idea how amazing she was and it made him want her even more.
There is however, something she is holding back and this act of omission, if not handled properly, may just be the thing that unravels their whole love affair. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1978
• Where—St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
• Education—B.A., Memorial University (Newfoundland); Northeastern University (Boston)
• Currently—lives in the U.K.
K.T. Moore is a Canadian author who has lived in several countries by the time she was 23 years old and settled the United Kingdom with her now husband. Her three published romance novels: Desire's Dilemma - Elizabeth's Story, Desire's Dilemma - Jean Luc's Story and The Arrangement - A Playboy's Proposal.
Early life
Moore was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Both of her parents were hard working and instilled that strong work ethic in Moore. Her mother was a school teacher for thirty-one years before retiring after having brain surgery and her father owned his own business.
Moore attended Memorial University of Newfoundland, where she received her undergraduate degrees. She spent a year in Boston attending Northeastern University and interning at State Street Bank in their Foreign Exchange Division.
Career
Initially, Moore interned for the Canadian Federal Government, for Marketing firms, helping to coordinate technology transfer conferences in the Netherlands and Germany, before moving into the foreign exchange markets in the United States. Once she graduated from University, she went on to work as a Commercial Manager for one of the largest banks in the world. It was through some foreign clients that she met her husband and moved over to the UK after a year’s long distance relationship. Not knowing the city and without a job to go to, Moore had really given up her life and taken a leap of faith for their relationship and thirteen years later, she still resides in the UK with her husband and son. She has managed to form some strong bonds with a number of great people who she is lucky to count as close friends.
Books
Moore began writing novels during her the small amount of free time she has had since late 2014. Her three current books are:
♦ Desire's Dilemma - Elizabeth's Story (2015) which revolves around a woman's fight to regain control when her husband announces he is leaving her. She becomes entangled with a gorgeous stranger who soon becomes her boss and tries to fight the growing feelings of desire she has for him. She has a secret though that could threaten everything if she doesn’t handle the situation correctly. What is the etiquette in the dating world today for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
♦ Desire's Dilemma – Jean Luc's Story (2015) centers on Elizabeth’s shock after Daniel’s surprising confession and Jean Luc is sent in to ‘handle’ the aftermath. His mission is to get close to Elizabeth and uncover her secrets. Jean Luc has no issue with doing this but suddenly, he finds himself in unchartered territory. In his pursuit of opening her up, he has somehow opened himself to her instead and now he has to decide whether his feelings of desire are enough to risk potentially destroying his family over. Is this woman worth the risk?
♦ The Arrangement – A Playboy’s Proposal (2016) centers around Emily, a young woman caught in spot of work trouble who decides a night out on the town is just what she needs to forget all about those pesky work issues. What she hadn’t banked on was waking up naked in a mystery bed, completely blank on the previous evening’s events... especially the ones that led her there.
Feeling hugely embarrassed and slightly worse for wear, she tries to make a run for it but is cornered by a rather irate looking older woman demanding answers. Fearful didn’t begin to explain what Emily was feeling but when stranger Blake appears in the mix, she is momentarily distracted by his good looks and too close for comfort proximity. None of that prepares her for the arrangement he proposes and she is amazed when she actually accepts.
Never one to go back on her word, Emily starts to struggle as she second guesses whether she should go back on her word and walk away from this playboy’s proposal but that would mean walking away from Blake, or if she should see it through and most likely end up hurt as her feelings for him are growing more intense the more time she spends with him.
Will their arrangement be a step too far for her or can she walk the tightrope of carnal want without falling into the depths of despair? (From the author )
Discussion Questions
1. How did you experience the book? Were you engaged immediately, or did it take you a while to "get into it"? How did you feel reading it—amused, sad, confused, bored?
2. Do you think it was too soon for Elizabeth to get involved in a relationship so soon after finding out about her husband?
3. Do you think she made the right call regarding Lucas’ schooling? What would you do in her situation?
4. Why do you think Elizabeth didn’t come clean about Lucas and do you think it was the right call? How honest should we be when we meet other people? Should we tell prospective dates all our secrets or are some topics okay not to share straight away? Who should decide that?
5. How did you find the plot? Was it fast paced enough or would you have preferred more scene setting and character interaction?
6. How did you find the ending? Were you satisfied or has it left you wanting to read the next installment straight away?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)
The Quality of Silence
Rosamund Lupton, 2016
KnopfDoubleday
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781101903674
Summary
The gripping, moving story of a mother and daughter's quest to uncover a dark secret in the Alaskan wilderness from the New York Times bestselling author of Sister and Afterwards.
Thrillingly suspenseful and atmospheric, The Quality of Silence is the story of Yasmin, a beautiful astrophysicist, and her precocious deaf daughter, Ruby, who arrive in a remote part of Alaska to be told that Ruby's father, Matt, has been the victim of a catastrophic accident.
Unable to accept his death as truth, Yasmin and Ruby set out into the hostile winter of the Alaskan tundra in search of answers.
But as a storm closes in, Yasmin realizes that a very human danger may be keeping pace with them. And with no one else on the road to help, they must keep moving, alone and terrified, through an endless Alaskan night. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1964
• Rasied—Little Chesterford in Essex, England, UK
• Education—B.A., Cambridge University
• Awards—New Writers' Award (Carton Television)
• Currently—lives in London, England
Rosamund Lupton is a British author of three novels—Sister (2010), Afterwards (2012), and The Quality of Silence (2016). She studied literature at Cambridge University and lives in London with her husband and two children.
In her first novel, Sister, she tells the story of Beatrice, living in New York, in search for Tess, her missing sister, who lives in London. Sister was a great commercial success, selling well over a million copies worldwide. It has been translated in 30 languages, and it was a best-seller on the New York Times and London's Sunday Times lists.
Her second novel Afterwards was awarded "best mystery books of 2012" by the Seattle Times, and "best book of 2012" by Amazon USA.
Her third novel, The Quality of Silence, follows an astrophysicist and her deaf daughter through the Alaskan wilderness in search of their husband/father. It was optioned by FilmNation in March 2016.
Before turning to novels, Lupton was a script-writer for television and film, writing original screenplays. She won Carlton Television's new writers' competition. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 3/24/2016.)
Book Reviews
Much like The Revenant...Rosamund Lupton’s suspense novel The Quality of Silence pits its characters against a heartlessly cruel Mother Nature…. About half of this teeth-chattering novel is narrated by the indomitable Ruby, who is profoundly deaf—and a model of girl power…. In this tale, the deadly cold and treacherous road are no match for the fiery heat of enduring love.
Carol Memmott - Washington Post
A compelling and beautifully written journey into the darkest of hearts.
Seattle Times
A tight, claustrophobic thriller that will enclose readers in a world of cold from which there’s no escape….The author evokes a sense of absolute isolation that hovers at the edge of every scene…. Lupton uses powerful, evocative language to craft a literary novel that sets a knife-edge of danger on every page, as readers follow mother and daughter through the forbidding landscape to a heart-stopping conclusion.
Barbara Clark - Bookpage
(Starred review.) Astrophysicist Yasmin Alfredson, the heroine of this heart-stopping page-turner...makes a desperate gamble to save her marriage.... Lupton limns a starkly beautiful story at once as expansive as the aurora borealis and as intimate as a mother and daughter finally learning to truly hear each another.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review.) Astrophysicist Yasmin and Ruby, her precocious deaf daughter, fly from Scotland to Alaska to visit Ruby's father.... Nail-bitingly suspenseful and chilling.... Lupton demonstrates her mastery of the suspense genre in this dazzling tale of human resilience. —Susan Clifford Braun, Bainbridge Island, WA
Library Journal
A rip-roaring read full of both beatiful descriptions of the tundra and harrowing passages on the dangers of subzero temperatures.
Booklist
Lupton is at her best when describing the dark, wintry wilderness and pitting her two female protagonists against all comers. Shrewdly commercial and seamed with some memorable descriptions of the polar wilds, Lupton's latest, though unsteady at times, delivers an engrossing wallop of readable escapism.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. What do you think the setting of northern Alaska added to the novel?
2. Did your opinion of deafness change during the course of the novel? What did you think of Ruby’s character?
3. Do you think Yasmin should be blamed for taking Ruby with her on a perilous journey, as she blames herself? What would you have done?
4. What is your take on the use of Twitter in the novel?
5. What did you think of Matt’s story and the fracking eco-thriller strand?
6. In your reading of the novel, did you expect Matt to reappear?
7. There was a sense of menace in the novel that came from many elements. Which did you find the most threateningand why?
8. Did you enjoy the multiple viewpoints in the novel?
9. Which character did you most relate to and why?
10. Did you find the ending of the novel satisfying? Did it resolve itself in a way you would have expected it to?
(Questions from author's webpage.)