Many young adults may find similarities to their own lives in some of the issues that face Jacy, Sonny, Duane, and their classmates—money, popularity, uncertainty about the future, sexuality, college vs. going to work, etc. Discussion of these similarities may be a good beginning to discussion of the novel as a whole. The town of Thalia is an important part of the work, for it affects all the characters, almost becoming a character itself. The loneliness many of the characters feel may indicate the town's effect on them. Also important to note is the progression of the characters as they make their way through the year; they have graduated from high school—do they have something now to look forward to?

1. How is high school in Thalia in the early 1960s similar to high school now?

What, too, are the differences? Do you...