Questions for Discussion

  1. At the beginning of The Wyoming Heir, Luke makes a serious promise to his mother. Have you ever made a life-altering promise? If so, what was it? And did you keep that promise at all costs or later decide it was more ethical not to honor that promise?
  2. As the novel progresses and it becomes more difficult for Luke to keep his promise, how does he respond? Do you think he makes the right choices? Why or why not?
  3. When we first meet Elizabeth Wells, we learn that education is very important to her. How do other characters feel about the way Elizabeth regards women’s education?
  4. How do you personally feel about women’s education? Are women today better off because they have more educational opportunities than women of Elizabeth’s day? What current advancements do you think need to be made in this area?
  5. Elizabeth’s father is a politician and not always honest. Do you think it would be difficult to be involved in politics and maintain honesty? Why or why not?
  6. Elizabeth’s mother loves telling Elizabeth that she needs to honor her parents. Does Elizabeth do a good job of honoring her parents in The Wyoming Heir? How so?
  7. Do you think honoring someone means you have to blindly obey that person no matter what? Why or why not?
  8. Who does Luke tell Elizabeth she needs to honor? What example from the Bible does Luke use? Are there other examples from the Bible that bolster his claims?
  9. When Luke arrives in Valley Falls, he discovers his sister has changed in ways he never expected. Does Luke think these changes are good at first? How does his opinion of these changes evolve throughout the novel?
  10. Have you ever known a person to change drastically like Samantha did? Did you find it hard to accept those changes? What things did you do so that you could better accept the other person?
  11. From the very beginning of the story, Luke likes to control things. Is his desire to control everything around him good or bad? What problems does it cause throughout the story? Are you more apt to try to control things or to “go with the flow”? Has this been a good or a bad thing in your life?
  12. Because of what happened with her previous fiancé, Elizabeth has a hard time trusting Luke. Has an event from your past ever hindered you from trusting people before? How does Elizabeth overcome her fear of trusting men? What have you done to overcome some of your past fears?
  13. At the end of The Wyoming Heir, Elizabeth makes a very hard choice. What were some of the consequences of her choice? Was her choice right or wrong?