1. Before meeting Sophie, Willis has a very clear mental image of his dream girl. Compare Sophie to this image.

2. What parallels exist between Sophie and Willis's dog Zola? Consider how they both came into Willis's life and his initial reaction to each of them.

3. At the beginning of the novel, what are Willis's two dreams? Why are these dreams not likely to come true?

By the end of the novel what has happened to his two dreams? In what ways have they come true?

4. How does Benny's girlfriend, Lee, fit Willis's image of his dream girl?

How is she different from Sophie? Consider both the appearance and the personality of each character.

5. Willis is a very different person at the end of the novel from who he was at the beginning of the novel. In what ways has he changed?

6. A subplot in the...