1. For Sean, tradition is important.

Report on ways in which tradition is important in your life. What kinds of family traditions do you work to preserve? What kinds of school traditions are important to you?

2. Examine newspapers and magazines for several weeks for items involving child pornography and child molestation. Try to determine how serious these two problems are in America today and in your own community.

3. During the course of the novel, Sean's view of his father changes markedly. Try to trace this change. At what point does Sean learn that his father really is concerned about him? Compare and contrast some of the things Sean says about his father before and after Sean learns about his father's concern.

4. At one point in the novel, Sean's homeroom discusses the suicide of a twelfth grader who went to their school...