1. Some reviewers have commented that Paulsen's memory for small and precise details strains the reader's credulity. Do you sense any passages where memory seems to mix with invention?

2. Compare Paulsen's expectations of what his father would be like with his discovery of the man's character. What factors made a seven-year-old's disappointment inevitable?

3. As he grows, Gary gradually realizes that his mother is promiscuous and an alcoholic. Yet he continues to love her. In what ways did Mrs. Paulsen show herself a good mother?

4. Many of the American characters in the book express racist attitudes towards the Japanese and the Filipinos.

What is the basis of these attitudes?

How does Gary react to them?

5. Describing his reluctance to cry in front of Rom, Gary explains, "He wasn't a grown up, and I wasn't a kid."

How do you understand this statement?

6. Paulsen shows that war...