Book Club Discussion Questions for 'When We Believed in Mermaids' by Barbara O'Neal
Another book we devoured while in quarantine is Barbara O’Neal’s When We Believed in Mermaids—a thoughtful mystery that explores family, honesty, forgiveness, and love. We were initially drawn to the book by the Amazon teaser “Her sister has been dead for fifteen years when she sees her on the TV news…” … who can resist that? But the book was deeper than your average mystery novel, so let’s dive right in.
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Were you drawn more to one sister than the other?
Why did the author include Javier in the storyline?
What did you think of the sapphire house metaphor — how did the ending of that mystery tie together with the mystery of Kit and Josie?
Dylan played an important role for both Jose and Kit. How did his guidance and personal issues affect the girls’ relationships with one another?
Were the flaws of the parents reflected in the children in the book?
Was disappearing Josie’s only option?
Why would Simon forgive Josie?
Where would you rate this book on the cheesiness scale: 1 being none, and 10 being the cheesiest book you’ve ever read?
How would you describe this book to someone who’s never read it?
WHAT ARE YOU READING NEXT?
Cameron Bruns Ewing is the managing editor of Just Us Gals. She works in Sales at HubSpot where she strives to make the tech industry more inclusive while also pursuing a degree in environmental sustainability from University College Dublin.
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