Reading Group Guide
Chapter Discussion Questions for
By Hilary Weisman Graham
1. Alice says she buys the concert tickets because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime reunion concert, but what do you think her real reasons are? Describe.
1. Summer thinks that she “never understood what made her and her friends so ‘popular’ anyway, considering half the school hated them”. Is this true in your school? Why or why not?
2. Summer also wonders why her parents "could barely wrap their heads around the fact that she wasn’t going to school with all her friends at UMass Walford. But Summer couldn’t wait to go to Boston College in the fall”. Do you find something like this hard to believe? Why or why not?
1. You’ve now met the three main characters. Each has his or her own unique personality. Describe each character and how they differ. Then describe how they are alike.
1. Tiernan just leaves a note for her mom before leaving. What does this say about Tiernan? Share your views.
2. Tiernan looks at the trip as running away. Do you think that’s what she’s doing? Why or why not? What about the other girls? What could they be running from? Explain.
3. If you were running away, where would you go? Who or what would you take with you?
1. Alice worries about showing her emotions. “Try as she might to be guarded and apathetic, she was (and probably always would be) the type of girl who walked around with her heart on her sleeve”. Do you think this is a negative or positive trait to have? Explain your view.
2. Alice reflects on the squirrel at the end of the chapter: “When the squirrel was dead, the world was a place Alice was familiar with—a place of unwavering certainties, where what was buried stayed buried, and what was done (like she’d said in her mantra) was most definitely done. But if a squirrel could rise from the dead, maybe the past had more power than Alice had previously given it credit for. Maybe the past was only the past until it decided to claw its way back to the present”. What could this be a metaphor for? Explain.
1. Look over Summer’s thoughts after she talks to Jace. Do you think they are justifiable? Should she give him another chance? Why or why not? Use specific examples to support your view.
2. What do you think is the answer to Summer’s question at the end: “Part of her couldn’t help but wonder—as she read Jace's fifth sappy apology—if the only reason he wanted her back was because she'd actually gone away"?
1. It seems as if everyone but Summer knows Jace has cheated on her. How do you feel about having knowledge like that? Should Tiernan or Alice tell Summer? If you knew something like this, should you tell a friend or keep quiet? Explain your view.
2. Tiernan reflects that Summer takes things too seriously while she herself “never took anything seriously at all”. What are the benefits and downfalls to each way of living? Which girl’s philosophy do you follow most? Why?
3. Tiernan believes that even if the girls are together on this trip, “There were certain unwritten rules for the three of them being together again: invisible DO NOT ENTER signs; topics they dared not mention”. What are some of these topics? List them. How might this way of thinking foreshadow future events in the book? Explain.
1. Discuss the girl dancing in front of the fire. What does she symbolize to Summer?
2. Describe Summer’s fantasy about Level3 member Travis. What does this say about the way she views love?
1. Analyze the map the girls decide to create. Why is it symbolic? Look at the different parts of it and what it might represent to the girls’ journey at the moment. Also, how is the girls’ decision to follow the map symbolic? Describe.
2. Alice still believes she’s made a mistake by going on the trip with the girls. Why do you think this is? Explain. Do you believe she’s made a mistake? Why or why not?
3. Alice wonders, “If ‘no strangers in the van’ was meant only for outsiders, or if it also applied to the people inside”. What do you think? Are the girls in the van strangers to one another? Why or why not?
1. The girls work together multiple times in this chapter. Discuss each time and how it might impact their journey to being friends again.
1. Talk about how the decision Summer makes to ask for another Sno-Kone is symbolic of a change in her. What things did we see her doing in the past that would be the opposite of this action?
2. “Most of the time Summer went through life not knowing what she wanted. But every time she actually did manage to make a decision, there was always someone there to question it, or make her feel like she was wrong”. Where do we see this happening to her in the book? Can you describe some examples?
1. Alice respects how Summer was careful about who she let in, “A lot of girls seemed to just spill their guts to whoever happened to be in earshot. But when Summer opened up, it actually meant something”. Is this an admirable trait to have? Discuss both the positives and negatives.
1. Alice starts to change in this chapter. Where do we see this? How is she changing?
2. Quentin says he doesn’t live life with expectations. “I know one way to never get what you want is by trying to make it fit into your vision of how it should be”. Do you believe this way of living is worthwhile? Why or why not?
1. Summer believes that sometimes love can last. But Tiernan thinks it's "as a temporary condition. Like insanity”. Whose view of love do you most agree with and why?
1. What do you think about Summer’s choice to go home because of Jace? Is it a wise one? Why or why not?
2. Summer hears Level3’s “Sad Song” in the elevator. What could this song represent? How is it symbolic of what is going on in the book right now?
1. Are you surprised about the way Tiernan’s mom reacted to Tiernan's running away? Why or why not?
2. Tiernan’s mom takes a lot of the blame for the separation between Tiernan and herself. Do you believe she is to blame? Why or why not?
Discuss how Tiernan could also be at fault.
3. Tiernan’s mom says she can stay on the trip if she’s on it for the right reasons. Do you believe Tiernan is on the trip for the right reasons? What might her reasons be?
1. Alice reflects on how different her family is from Summer’s family. Which of the three characters’ families is your family the most like? Why?
2. How do the lyrics at the end of the chapter relate to Tiernan and her mom? To the girls?
1. What do you think Tiernan meant about her mom when she said, “I’m serious. It was like she liked hearing about all the bad stuff I did”. Why would she be like this?
2. Tiernan doesn’t believe the talk she had with her mom would have happened at home. “Like their big Moment of Truth couldn’t have happened if they were still back in Walford, in their normal environment”. Why do you think she feels this way? What does she mean?
3. Tiernan is afraid to bring up the dance because she thinks her friends won’t forgive her. “She thought about what her mother had said about wanting to slog through the mud with her as opposed to jut letting Tiernan drift away. But friends played by different rules than parents. Not that Alice and Summer even considered her their friend. And what was the point of unburdening herself with something they’d never forgive her for anyway”? Based on what we know about Summer and Alice, do you think this is true? Why or why not?
4. Tiernan questions whether it’s possible to be friends with these girls, “But was it possible to actually be a friend to people she’d lied to for all these years?” Do you think they have become friends? Why or why not?
1. Summer creates a list of things she wants. What if Tiernan created a list? What would it look like? What about Alice? What would be on your own list?
1. Alice wishes she could just get over it. "Why couldn’t she be like a normal person and just shake off the bad stuff and move on without even looking back? Do you think it’s possible to do that? Can people live like that? Why or why not?
2. “Alice knew history repeated itself, but up until this moment she never realized why. Now it seemed obvious: Human beings weren’t capable of learning from their mistakes, even if they wanted to. They were just doomed to repeat the same awful patterns over and over, no matter how hurtful or stupid they were. That was the universe’s brilliant master plan—to put the song on repeat”. Do you believe this? Why or why not?
3. Alice dismisses the car playing Level3 and doesn’t believe it’s a sign for anything when before she would have taken it as a sign. Do you believe in signs? Why or why not?
1. Explain Tiernan’s reasoning for what she did at the dance. Do you think it was a realistic reaction to what was going on in her life? Why or why not?
1. Summer reflects on Alice and Tiernan by saying, “They were both so different from her. And yet, Summer had spent the last four years hanging out with people who all looked alike and dressed alike and acted alike. But the only thing her Walford friends really seemed to have in common was the fact they were too afraid to actually be themselves”. Do you believe people get in relationships like this? Why or why not?
1. Tiernan thinks about how unlike herself Alice is. Alice is able to let her emotions spill out and be vulnerable. This idea scares Tiernan. Do you believe this is hard for people to do? Why or why not? What are the positives of living like this? What are the downfalls?
1. What do you think Summer means when she says, “So things haven’t exactly gone our way. It still doesn’t mean you should blame yourself. It’s not anyone’s fault things ended up like this. It’s like that John Lennon quote, ‘Life’s what happens while you’re busy making other plans’”. How does this relate to the book? How does this quote relate to life in general? To your life?
1. How is the relationship among the Level3 boys like that of the girls?
Chapter Quiz Questions
1. What do Alice’s parents give her as a graduation gift?
2. What does Alice call the VW van her family has had for years?
3. What did Alice and her friends spend their time doing in the van?
4. What big announcement does Alice hear on the news?
5. What does Alice buy at the end of the chapter?
1. Where is Summer supposed to go for the summer?
2. Who is she going with?
3. What happens to change Summer’s plans?
1. Who does Tiernan live with?
2. Why is Tiernan grounded?
3. Who does Tiernan worry about coming on the trip?
4. What does Tiernan do when she thinks her mom might say that she can’t go on the trip?
1. How does Tiernan get to Alice’s house?
2. How does Tiernan let her mom know that she left?
3. Who surprises Tiernan and Alice as they are driving away?
4. What happens at the start of the trip that the girls view as a bad omen?
1. What does Summer insist they should do about the squirrel?
2. What is the event the girls keep thinking about that seemed to be the end of their friendship?
3. What happens to the squirrel at the end of the chapter?
1. Why does Jace call Summer?
2. Who do the girls name the GPS after?
1. What does Summer learn that puts her in a sulky mood?
2. What do the girls discover about the hotels in the town they decide to stay in?
3. What is the nickname the girl gives the restaurant they stop at (because the sign is broken)?
4. What does the waitress reveal is going on in the town?
5. Where do Toad and Phred suggest they stay for the night?
1. What girl is interested in Toad and Phred?
2. What does Summer do to help sort out her feelings?
3. Where does Michael talk the girls into going?
4. What does Michael reveal he is that scares the girls?
5. What is Michael’s tattoo of?
1. The girls use the excuse that they forgot their bathing suits to get away from Michael. Why is this not a good excuse?
2. What two things happen to make the girls stop the Pea Pod in the woods?
3. What do the girls decide to do to pass the time?
4. How do the girls decide on places to stop?
1. Why is the van unable to move in the morning?
2. What falls off of the Pea Pod?
3. What do the girls agree to do in order to fix the Pea Pod?
1. What does Summer learn how to do?
2. What kind of truck do the girls see that gets them excited?
3. What is Finn’s job?
4. What does Finn invite Summer and her friends to do?
1. When Alice’s parents called, what does she ask about?
2. What do her parents ask about?
3. What promise does Alice make to her parents?
4. What do the girls forget to do with the Pea Pod?
5. What do they break into?
1. What happens to make Alice change her mind about sticking around Finn’s house?
2. What does Mrs. Oldham suggest to the girls when they stay for dinner?
3. Where does Alice end up at the end of the chapter and with what person?
4. Who finds her?
1. What do the girls do after Mrs. Oldham catches Alice?
2. What city is the girls' next stop?
3. What is the name of the hotel they are staying in?
4. What activity do they do that the hotel is known for?
1. There are only two beds in the hotel room and Alice and Summer claim them. How is it decided who Tiernan sleeps with?
2. Who calls while the girls are in the room?
3. What big purchase does Summer make?
4. What kind of sign does Summer get when on the elevator?
1. How did Tiernan’s mom track her down?
2. What does she reveal to Tiernan about their relationship after the divorce?
3. Why does Tiernan say she dyed her hair?
4. What decision does Tiernan’s mom make about the road trip?
1. What does Alice realize she’s lucky to have that Summer doesn’t seem to have in the same way?
2. What are Tiernan and her mom doing with the lights out when the girls return?
1. Where is the girls’ next stop?
2. What drinks do the girls have when they are out?
3. What two big things does Alice lose?
1. What happens between the three girls after the purse is lost?
2. What does Alice tell Summer?
3. What does Summer see that changes her mind about leaving?
1. Alice finally hears from Quentin. What does he say?
2. What do Tiernan and Alice decide to do because they lost the tickets?
3. Who do the girls hear is giving away tickets?
4. What will the girls do to try to win tickets?
1. What goes wrong when the girls get to the contest?
2. How do they change this?
3. What big thing does Tiernan talk about while onstage?
1. Who wins the contest?
2. How do the girls get to go to the concert?
3. How do the girls travel to the concert?
1. Alice gets a text—who is it from?
2. What does this text say?
3. How did the girls miss the concert?
1. What do Alice’s parents call to say?
1. How do the girls decide to go see the city?
2. Who stops to give them a lift?
3. What kind of car do they get into?
4. Where are the girls invited?
5. What is revealed to the girls that is a secret?
Chapter Quiz Answers
1. Green Volkswagen van
2. Pea Pod
3. Talking about/listening to Level3
4. Level3 is having a one-night-only reunion concert
5. Tickets to the concert
1. Martha’s Vineyard
2. Her boyfriend, Jace
3. Jace dumps her
1. Her mom
2. Her mom finds alcohol in her closet
4. She decides to sneak out
1. On a skateboard
2. She leaves a note
4. They hit a squirrel
1. Bury it
2. Winter Wonderland dance
3. It jumps up and runs away
1. He wants to get back together
2. Their old soccer coach
1. Jace went to a party he didn’t tell her about
2. There are no vacancies
4. Music festival
5. The field
2. Writes in her journal
3. The lake
4. Fugitive from the law
5. Winged man with sword over the devil (or archangel)
1. Everyone is skinny-dipping
2. They get lost and it starts pouring rain
3. Make a collage
4. They stop based off things mentioned in Level3 songs
1. It’s stuck in the mud
2. The side door
3. Clear the shed of kudzu
1. Drive stick (the Pea Pod)
2. A snow cone truck
3. Camp counselor
4. Go swimming at his house
1. If she got a letter from Brown
2. If Tiernan was with her
3. That Tiernan will call her mom
4. Fill the Pea Pod up with gas
5. A storage shed (where they see a container of gas)
1. She meets his brother Quentin
2. She suggests that they stay the night
3. In the Pea Pod with Quentin
4. Mrs. Oldham
1. They get out of the house fast
4. Boat ride on fake river
1. Alice farts
3. Plane tickets home
4. A Level3 song plays
1. Through Alice’s parents
2. The deconstruction was her fault
3. She didn’t want her red hair to remind her mom of her dad
4. Tiernan can stay with the girls
1. A loving family
2. Listening to Level3
1. New Orleans
2. Frozen drinks
3. Her purse and the Level3 tickets in her purse
1. They get in a big fight
2. Jace is cheating on her
3. A middle school volleyball team who are good friends
1. He can’t do the relationship thing
2. Go home
3. A radio contest
4. A dance
1. They are too late
2. Tiernan writes a note on the collage to convince the DJs to let them try out
3. The fight at the ninth-grade dance
1. The boy with the clarinet
2. The winner gives them his 3 extra tickets
3. The Pea Pod
2. He can’t stop thinking about her
3. They overslept
1. She got into Brown
1. They walk
3. A yellow VW van
4. A party at one of the band member’s parents' house
5. Level3 is getting back together
Reunited Final Book Questions
1. Each chapter has song lyrics at the beginning. Analyze these song lyrics. Discuss how each relates to the plot of the chapter it comes before. Explain why you feel this way.
2. The title of the book is Reunited. Discuss all the different types of reunions that happened in this book. Which reunion do you think was the most important? Explain why.
3. If you were creating a collage to represent this book, what would you include on the collage (think about specific symbols such as pictures, colors, people and objects)?
4. Think about a close friend or small group of friends. If you were creating a collage like Tiernan, Summer, and Alice did, what events, items, and symbols would you include?
5. What band would you take a road trip to see and why?
6. Predict the future of Alice, Tiernan, and Summer. Do you think they will stay friends or drift apart again? Use specific examples from the book to support your view.
Guide written by Rachele Alpine, a middle school English teacher
This guide has been provided by Simon & Schuster for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.