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High Water Book club discussion guide
- As the story is written, High Water is not set in a specific
year. How do the challenges of middle school in 2010 compare to the
issues girls faced growing up in the 1980s or 1990s?
- At Loyola Middle School, there were definite “cool” and “scut” groups.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of being part of either group?
In your school, are there more options than these two narrow categories
that defined “fitting in” versus being an outsider?
- Molly was bullied in several ways, some more obvious than others.
What were the ways that she was bullied, and how did she deal with
these situations? Would you have reacted differently if you had been
in her shoes? If Molly was your friend and asked you for advice about
how to fit in better at school, what would you tell her?
- How do the relationships between the seventh-grade girls and boys
in High Water compare with the girl-boy interactions in your
school or town?
- Both Lisa and Molly share the experience of feeling that other people
see them differently from the outside than they feel on the inside.
Describe a situation where the image other people had of you did not
match your true self.
- While out in the wilderness, Molly and Lisa talk about the ways that
their parents try to protect them. Have you ever shared the feeling
that you “wished the world belonged to us”?
- What were Lisa and Molly’s most realistic and unrealistic fears
during their survival experience? What were the sources of their least
realistic fears?
- What were the biggest mistakes Molly and Lisa made in the wilderness?
What did they do well? Did they make decisions that you disagreed with?
- Rayna is a complicated character. She’s definitely a villain
from Molly’s point of view. What are Rayna’s strengths
and weaknesses from Lisa’s perspective?
- What do you think will happen when Molly and Lisa see each other
in school after surviving their wilderness adventure?
- What was your favorite part of the book? Choose a passage you liked
to read out loud to the group.
- Describe an adventurous trip you would like to take some day!
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