Though it should have been a sad occasion to see Karen lying in her bed, looking pale and weak as we talked about the trip we would all take this summer, just because we could, it was a happy moment. Karen laughed feebly as Nate held her hand, and I was immensely grateful for all of the things I had always taken for granted-the future I had always assumed everyone was entitled to.
In the end, I had come to terms with myself and what my life was. It wasn’t particularly bad or good. And as my mom tried to say, even with her poor communication skills, the individual journey of our lives doesn’t really label us bad or good. Life was whatever I chose to make of it.
And though I traded in what I thought was an important high school experience, almost pivotal to my feeling that human connection, what I gained was so much more than I could have ever imagined. Something much richer.
I discovered love.
Discussion Questions
1. Throughout the book we’re given information by Amelia, our narrator. She seems to tell the audience and those she interacts with about the unique bond she has with her mother. When we discover the truth about the disconnected and almost nonexistent relationship between her and her mother, we start to find that our narrator is not wholly reliable. Why does Amelia feel the need to stretch the truth about her relationship with her mother? What other half-truths does Amelia give the reader that we soon see the reality behind?
2. Amelia makes a point of stating over and over again that she does not participate in normal high school life because she does not want to be reduced to a simple stereotype. If this fate is so loathsome to her, why does she categorize her clients based on their clothes, music, and friends? Does this mean she thinks less of the people who hire her? Does her perception of others change as the story progresses?
3. When Amelia is breaking up Rachel McKlintock and Alex Swensen, she can’t help but notice that Rachel’s mother comforts her daughter in her time of need. How do you think this affects Amelia emotionally? What contrasts can you see between Amelia’s mother and Rachel’s?
4. Throughout the story David talks with Amelia about his family and how close he is to them. We never see David’s family in the story, and Amelia is never introduced to them. Unlike the often unreliable descriptions of reality we get from Amelia, should we assume David is telling the truth about his perfect family? Why do you think Amelia is never introduced to them?
5. Amelia has spent her entire high school career thus far trying to remain anonymous and only interact with people when her job calls for it. She makes no human connections until David comes along and sacrifices a normal high school experience for something she originally felt was better. Do you think Amelia regrets the ultimate consequences of her seclusion? When do you think she starts to admit to herself that living separate from the high school experience may not have been the best choice?
6. When Amelia first learns why Karen and Nate can’t be together, she imagines a “Romeo and Juliet” scenario. Is this another instance of Amelia categorizing people or is this somehow different? What differences do you see between this form of categorization and her typical jock, nerd, and punk categorizations?
About the Author
Shannen Crane Camp was born and raised in Southern California where she developed a love of reading and writing, completing her first (very) short story in the fifth grade. She continued to write throughout junior high and high school before finally deciding that enough was enough; it was time to be an author. She moved to Provo, Utah, to attend Brigham Young University where she attained a bachelor’s degree in Media Arts and a very well received proposal from her fellow California resident Josh Camp. The two are now happily married and living in Provo.
