Week 1: 10/11/2021 - Orientation meeting
Week 2: 10/18/2021 - Discussion of pg. 1-84
Week 3: 10/25/2021 - Discussion of pg. 85-156
Week 4: 11/1/2021 - Discussion of pg. 157-244
From the publisher's website:
Sixteen-year-old Jake Livingston sees dead people everywhere. But he can’t decide what’s worse: being a medium forced to watch the dead play out their last moments on a loop or being at the mercy of racist teachers as one of the few Black students at St. Clair Prep. Both are a living nightmare he wishes he could wake up from. But things at St. Clair start looking up with the arrival of another Black student—the handsome Allister—and for the first time, romance is on the horizon for Jake.
Unfortunately, life as a medium is getting worse. Though most ghosts are harmless and Jake is always happy to help them move on to the next place, Sawyer Doon wants much more from Jake. In life, Sawyer was a troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school before taking his own life. Now he’s a powerful, vengeful ghost and he has plans for Jake. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about dead world goes out the window as Sawyer begins to haunt him. High school soon becomes a different kind of survival game—one Jake is not sure he can win.
This is Ryan Douglass's debut novel! However, in various interviews he has named these other titles as inspirations. Check them out from USF Libraries!
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One: The Lightning Thief by Each week, VBC discusses sections of the book together. Below is a collection of weekly discussion questions posed by VBC leadership and members. Be aware that these likely include spoilers, so please do not scroll further if you have not read the book.
Week 1: Orientation meeting
Discussions about favorite genres; speculations about what the book's cover tells us; expectations & hopes for the book.
Week 2: pg. 1-84
1) Why do you think Jake is able to see dead people and death loops?
2) Why do you think the author want to give us insights into Sawyer’s life?
3) How does the setting of the book so far (in particular, the high school) impact the story?
4) Have you ever felt like an outsider? What did you do to overcome (or lean into) that feeling?
Week 3: pg. 85-156
1. Fiona and Allister have started to play a bigger role in Jake’s life. How has this changed him or how do you see it changing him going forward? Are they good guys or bad guys?
2. How do you think Benji’s video really got leaked?
3. Ghost Sawyer’s confession to Jake regarding his motivation at the end of the section seems like a big turning point. What do you think will happen next?
4. The adults in this story seem to be mostly absent, negative, or negligent. Ms. Josette seems to be the only adult who interacts positively with Jake so far. What role does she serve? How might the story be different if there were more adults involved?
Week 4: pg. 157-244
1. The incident between Chad and Jake was an explosive moment. Do you think it was realistic? Did the outcome match your expectations?
2. Discuss Sawyer and Jake's last stand. What happened here? How did Jake overcome? Do you think this is the end of Sawyer?
3. What is the overall message of this book? What do you think Ryan Douglass is trying to tell the audience?
4. What do you think is next for Jake?
