1. Describe Jim in three words. What does Adrienne find most attractive in him? Do you believe that Adrienne loves Jim as much as he loves her?

2. Is there a city or town that is as meaningful to you as Tulsa is to Jim?

3. Why does Jim consider moving back to Tulsa after Adrienne’s accident? Why does he change his mind?

4. Reread the second to last paragraph of the novel. Why does Jim feel that the years he and Adrienne spent apart “had the most potential” (p.256)?

5. Adrienne says, “You could find a better girl than me, Jim . . . I know myself. I’m old” (p.46). Explain what she means. Is this the comment of a world-weary soul or of a young woman putting on a jaded façade?

6. Is Adrienne’s aunt Lydie a kind person? Does she have good intentions?

7. On pages 97–98, Albert offers a cynical premonition of Jim’s life after his summer with Adrienne. Do you believe he was right?

8. More than one character describes Adrienne as crazy. Is she? Why would people describe her in that way?

9. While visiting Jim in New York, Edith tells his roommate that she’s worried about Jim and that he used to be much nicer. What prompts her to say this?

10. Does Adrienne recognize Jim in the hospital?

11. Adrienne relates a childhood anecdote to Jim about setting her aunt’s garage on fire. Why does she share this story? What is she trying to convey to Jim?

12. We meet Jim after his freshman year in college and then again at age twenty-four. Think back to your own experiences at those ages. How have you changed? What have you learned about life that you didn’t know then?