The Good Children | Topics for Discussion & Projects

The Good Children Topics for Discussion

1. This novel borrows literary techniques from several kinds of fiction, for example, romance, science fiction and fantasy, mystery, and westerns. What do these categories have to do with content and with methods of selling books?

2. Within each of the genres mentioned above there are subcategories which Wilhelm pays tribute to, for example, the Gothic, which is a kind of romance; the horror novel that is a kind of fantasy; and the psychological mystery.

Pick a horror novel and a mystery novel and discuss what characteristics you find in these that match elements in Wilhelm's The Good Children.

3. Liz and her sister and brothers believe they have to solve all of their problems alone after the death of their mother. What parental lessons contribute to their having the belief that the family is against the outside world? Were these lessons constructive or...
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