Author:  Nancy Antle

Discussion Guide By:  Pat Bowes

Setting: New Haven, Connecticut, 1982

Main Characters:
   : Lisa Grey - 12-year old protagonist
   : Jenny Grey - little sister -- 11-years old
   : Mary Ann Grey - mother, nurse in Vietnam, school nurse
   : Robert Grey - father, husband, died in Vietnam
   : Aunt Rose - sister of Mary Ann, photographer
   : Heather - friend
   : Josh Steinberg - friend
   : Joe Hansen - student, boy Lisa has a crush on
   : Mr. Cooke - history teacher, objected to war
   : Mrs. Smyth - art teacher
   : Matt Parker - friend of Mr. Cooke, veteran - lost both legs, asst. history prof @ Yale
   : Dr. Haas - psychiatrist for Mrs. Grey
   : Kathy Martin - former reporter in Vietnam, professor at NC
   : Mrs. Donahue - teacher

Style: First person

1)  Lisa’s mother is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Research this
     problem and write a brief definition of it.

2) Why are Lisa’s mother’s nightmares getting worse?

3) In talking about her mother Lisa thinks,  “It was as if all the walls she’d put up to
    keep us from her problems had suddenly fallen down.”   What does she mean by
     “walls”?  Do you have any “walls” around you?

4) Why did Lisa’s dad serve 4 tours in Vietnam when he only had to serve one?

5) What does Lisa mean when she comments “Some days it felt like ... as if both my
    parents died in Vietnam.”?

6) Write 3 adjectives to describe Jenny and provide support for each.

7) Do you agree with Jenny that her mom should try harder to control herself and not
    show her problem to her children?  Why or why not?

8) Why does Lisa like school?

9) Why is Lisa upset by Mr. Cooke’s announcement in class?

10) What does Mr. Cooke say that upsets Mary Ann?  Why does this upset her?

11) What is Lisa’s reaction to the picture of her parents with 2 children?  Why does
      she react this way

1) How has the war put Lisa’s family together and torn it apart?

2) Write 3 adjectives to describe Mr. Parker.

3) When Matt Parker talks to Lisa’s mom, how does Lisa react?
    What is the meaning of the last sentence of this chapter?

4) Why didn’t Mr. Cooke serve in Vietnam?  Do you feel he should have?

5) Write 3 adjectives to describe Mr. Cooke.

6) What is the relationship between Lisa and Joe Hansen?  Why does the author
    keep bringing this up?

7) How does Lisa react at the dance to the news about her mother?  Why would she
     react this way?

1) Write 3 adjectives to describe Mr. Cooke.

2) What makes Lisa’s memorial perfect and why?

3) Read John Donne’s poem “Death, Be Not Proud.”  It is a challenging poem for a
     young person to understand, but what do you think he is saying?

4) Why doesn’t Lisa like Heather’s project?  Should Heather change it?

5) Mary Ann tells the class she was able to hold herself together in Vietnam because
     the soldiers needed her.  Why can’t she hold herself together now?

6) Why was Mary Ann frustrated as a nurse in a U.S. hospital after she returned from
     Vietnam?  Do you think what happened to Mary Ann in the U.S. hospital was fair?
     Why or why not?

7) Why did Matt place 3 cans of beer at the base of the Vietnam Memorial?

8) Search http://www.thevirtualwall.org  and determine if Robert Adam Grey’s name is
     on the Wall in Washington today?  Why is it or isn’t it?

9) In the story, should Alexander Thompson’s name be on the Wall?  Why or why not?

10) What is the significance of the item left at the wall by Mary Ann, Lisa, and Jenny?

11) On a scale of 1 - 20, with 20 being superior, rate this book and give reasons to
      support your rating.

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure -- then, from thee much more must flow;
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones and soul’s delivery.
Thou’rt slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke.  Why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more.  Death, thou shalt die.