All Rivers Flow to the Sea (16 page)

Thanks to Julie and Kate, unshakable compadres and first readers. Thanks to Kara LaReau for her astute and insightful editing. Thanks to Mark Engelstad for his articulate explanation of the physiology of brain trauma. Finally, thanks to my Steuben touchstones: the Ankens and the Bretts and, most especially, my parents.

1.   Describe the town of Sterns. Where is it located? What do you know about the geographic setting of the town?

2.   What time of year is it? How do the seasons affect the story as it develops?

3.   Why does Rose choose to go to the Sterns Gorge when she meets Jimmy there? Why does she return to the place with the other boys?

4.   Compare the Hinckley Reservoir and the town drowned beneath it with the ancient town of Pompeii, which Rose reads about to Ivy. Why are they both so significant to Rose?

5.   What is the significance of the night in the haymow when Rose, Ivy, Joe, and Tom were young, the night of the Truth or Dare game? Why does Rose return to the haymow the night that Tom finds her there?

6.   Compare the personalities of Rose and Ivy. How are they similar, and how are they different? What does Rose mean when she says, “Ivy didn’t bother with process”?

7.   Describe William T.’s character. What is his motivation for taking care of Rose and Ivy? In what specific ways does he help Rose work through her grief?

8.   Describe Rose and Ivy’s mother. Why doesn’t she visit Ivy? Why won’t she understand that Ivy can’t get better? What does William T. mean when he says to Rose, “Your mother’s not normal”?

9.   In what ways are Rose and Ivy like their mother? In what ways are they each different from her?

10. What does William T. mean when he says, “We all walk around with a stone in our shoe”?

11. Why does Rose change from reading the book on Pompeii to reading the Driver’s Manual to Ivy? What is the significance of this change?

12. William T. says, “All Millers go through crazy.” Why does he say this? Compare Joe and Tom Miller. How are they different, and how are they similar?

13. How is Tom Miller different from Jimmy, Warren, and Todd? Describe the differences between Rose’s interactions with Tom and with the others.

14. Rose says, “Ivy was the Sterns Gorge, rushing and tumbling, dark shallow water in a hurry, and I am the Hinckley Reservoir, contained and still.” How does this metaphor relate to their lives. What other instances of water imagery are there?

15. There are various images of stone in the story. What meanings do each of these images have?

16. Rose tells us that she is fascinated by the idea of sacrifice, by stories of martyrs, but that Ivy didn’t believe in sacrifice. How does the theme of sacrifice relate to different characters in the story?

17. How many references to scientific principles can you find in the story? What significance do these various ideas have for Rose?

18. Look for references to motion and movement in the story. What are some of the ways that the idea of motion tells us something about a person or a feeling?

19. What is the significance of the title of the book?

Adapted from a discussion guide written by Connie C. Rockman, literature consultant, adjunct professor of children’s and young adult literature, and editor of the
Eighth Book of Junior Authors and Illustrators
and the
Ninth Book of Junior Authors and Illustrators
(H.W. Wilson, 2000, 2005). For the complete guide, please visit our website at
www.candlewick.com
.

A
LISON
M
C
G
HEE
is the acclaimed author of several adult novels, including
Rainlight, Was It Beautiful?,
and
Shadow Baby
. She is also the author of the middle-grade novel
Snap
. She says of
All Rivers Flow to the Sea,
“The ending line from a poem by Louise Erdrich, ‘Sister, there is nothing I would not do,’ sliced its way into my heart when I first read it. A few years after that, my friend G.E. and I were walking along the banks of the Mississippi River. He made the comment that ‘Some people are still water, and others are moving water.’ This book is an alchemy born of those two lines, both of which have haunted me for years.” Alison McGhee lives in Minnesota.