Victor tells Melanie he wants a divorce. They’ve been going to counseling. Why is Vic’s declaration such a shock to Melanie?
What about Vic’s accusation that Jeffrey isn’t his child is so hurtful to Melanie?
Sam’s been in other relationships, but he is wary of another, in spite of his attraction to Melanie, whom he first met two years earlier. What makes him so comfortable in confirmed bachelorhood?
Ken is angry with his father. How does he show that he remains eager for his approval?
Anne aches to remain his father’s “little girl.” But now Mr. Holmes is living with a woman much younger than Melanie. How does that affect Anne?
What can you surmise about Melanie’s parenting from her relationship with her three children?
It’s clear she’s gone back to work when Jeffrey is two years old. How does that affect her marriage? Her relationship with her children?
What do you like/dislike about Leia’s interaction with Anne?
When Ken gets a job in the bakery, he seems to show responsibility? But how does he reveal that he’s still a 15-year-old?
When Anne goes to the strip club, what is she really after?
When Anne is rescued from the pond, Sam hugs her. What does that tell us about him? What does Anne’s acceptance of Sam’s comfort tell the reader about her?
Keith is caught with one of the two other boys who break into the grocery store. What does his reaction to the men at the detention center tell us about his understanding of the legal system? What does his refusal to “squeal” tell us about him?
When Melanie is allowed to take Keith home, they have a talk. What does their conversation reveal about each of them?
Both Keith and Anne have to talk to the judge. What does their reaction to the judge’s question reveal about how they feel about their family? Each of their parents? Their little brother?
What about Jeffrey’s interactions with Sam are most endearing?
When Sam brings Melanie home from a date, Vic is at the house and Keith gets into it with him in an effort to protect his mother. Sam intervenes. Should he have? Why?
Melanie admits she’s in love with Sam, but then she sees him with another woman at the Fourth of July party. Why does what she assumes about their relationship hit her so hard?
Have you known a man who left little gifts for the woman he loves? What does the reaction of Melanie’s kids’ reaction to those gifts reveal about how they feel about Sam? Their mother?
When Victor crashes the car, Melanie is seriously injured. What does Sam’s accompaniment of the children to her hospital room tell you about him?
Melanie’s mother is not the embodiment of the loving grandmother. What does her reaction to Sam’s call tell her about how she may have been as a mother?
The kids convene a family meeting to talk to Melanie they want her to marry Sam, but the words don’t come out quite that way. What does that scene tell you about each of the childen, and about Melanie and Sam?
Victor tells Melanie he wants a divorce. They’ve been going to counseling. Why is Vic’s declaration such a shock to Melanie?
