1. After a brief appearance last book, Moxie the Chihuahua returns, along with Mister and Timkin. Are you more of a dog person or a cat person? Do you have a pet of your own? If not, what would the perfect one be?
2. Is there a particular character in this story you feel a connection with? Or one who troubles you? Who and why?
3. As the story opens, Landon has a guilty fear that she ran away from the conflict with her professor in her previous university. Bobby says she chose a fresh start. How do you discern which is which in your own life? How can you encourage a friend who’s trying to decide in theirs?
4. Landon initially jumped in to fight for Ciara for the wrong reasons. In what way does our motivation affect what we do and how we do it? Or does it make a difference?
5. Anna, Zander, and Orran each filled a mentoring role in Landon’s or Ciara’s lives. Mentors, formal or informal, hold a place of trust in the lives they influence. Who have been some of the key influences in your life? Is there someone you’re mentoring now?
6. How would you define forgiveness? What are some healthy ways to step into forgiveness while acknowledging the impact of what was done? How can we rebuild from there—especially if the individual remains a part of our lives?
7. When Landon realizes her anger at the past is back, Anna says, “It’s surprising the things that surface after we think we’ve dealt with them.” Have you ever experienced that? What do you think of the idea that some issues present in layers like an onion, with each recurrence being one step nearer to the core?
8. The human desire for justice can include a need for vengeance. How do you feel about the vilest offenders being saved if they repent? About perhaps meeting them in heaven? What does the possibility say about the love and power of God? About His justice? How can a person trust “Him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23) and find their way to peace?
9. In encouraging Ciara not to be defined by her past hurt, Landon says, “If you find the life lesson in it, someday you may even be grateful for it.” Have there been experiences like this in your life that led to growth or unexpected benefits?
10. Landon discovers that hard-edged Shaun is wrestling with inner uncertainty. As he says, “We all have stories.” Most of us have some kind of wound or weakness. How might remembering that affect our interactions with others?
11. What do you think Shaun will do now? Do you think his “reform” will stick? Do you see him and Ciara keeping in touch?
12. In Ciara’s ruined apartment, Landon escapes her rising anger by praying for her friend while she works. When you need to take control of your thoughts, what strategies help most? Activity? Speaking truth aloud? Prayer? Music?
13. Bobby dismisses his value and downplays the things that make him unique. What might you tell him about how to develop a healthy self-image that neither inflates nor diminishes who he is?
14. Dylan and Bobby would each like to date Landon. Do you understand why her past makes her hesitant? Do you think there’s romance in her future? With one of these friends or with someone else?