John Henry West

Not to be blunt, but why do you think the author killed off John Henry West?

The soldier

I had such a bad feeling about F. Jasmine's "date" with the soldier. It was such a creepy build-up, but so well done. I thought it perfectly captured that divide between the child's world and the adult's world, where a naive, trusting, romantic kid has no idea of what dangers are lurking for her. Were you surprised that the encounter ended like it did?

The trio

What did you think of the family dynamics in this novella? The mother died giving birth to Frankie, and the father is hardly present. The family unit is really Frankie, Berenice Sadie Brown and 6-year-old John Henry — a powerful trio!

I loved Berenice. I thought her character was really the soul of the novel, and part of her appeal for me was how she related to the children,taking care of them and telling them stories and giving advice as if they were all the same age. Do you think the author saw her as essentially childlike or as an especially wise adult?

Frankie

What did you think of this as a coming-of-age story? Did you find the turbulence in Frankie's (or F. Jasmine's) life compellingly realistic, and what did you think of the resolution (the Frankie after the storm)?