Reading Group Guide

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.  What does Matt mean when he tells Joe, "You're free," while they eat breakfast in the diner? 

2.  In your opinion, what's the significance of the cradle?

3.  Renee's story occurs more than a decade after Matt's, and in many ways, the two characters exist in different worlds.  In what way are their two quests different?  How are their journeys the same?

4.  Why do you think Matt rips the shower out of the wall?

5.  In the first chapter, we learn that Marissa claims, "There are two kinds of people in the world.  There are people who understand that everything matters and people who don't understand that everything matters."  What does she mean by this?  Is she serious?  Use her statement as a way to think about the different characters in the book.

6.  Who was the character you most identified with at the beginning of the novel?  Did that change by the conclusion of the story?