1. On their way to San Galgano, the family discusses the legend of Excalibur and the sword in the stone. Gabi comments that in her society, people are taught to regard things with suspicion until proven. Do you see that in people you know? What do people believe in without “proof”? Is that a good or bad thing?
2. How old do you think you want to be when you get married? Why?
3. Two-thirds of medieval women were married by the age of nineteen. Some very wealthy noblewomen were as old as twenty-four when they married, but they were a rarity. What do you think marriages would be like today, in contemporary society, if we married earlier rather than later? Would it help or hurt?
4. How did you respond to Gabi’s growing attraction to Rodolfo Greco—and her confusion? Could you understand it? What would you have done in that situation?
5. From the beginning of Waterfall to the end of Torrent, significant changes happen in the Betarrini family dynamics. In the beginning, the girls feel very separate from their parents. Then they feel the loss of their dad, connect with their mom, and in the end, really become one again. Has your family suffered through a time of disunity and come out better for it? Are you in the midst of it now? What made or would make it better?
6. Tomas has a unique perspective on God, given his time and place. He’s serving as a priest, even when he’s no longer representing the Church. What’s your thought on how we should share our beliefs with others?
7. Once again, Gabi has to do things she never thought possible—jumping to another building, cauterizing a wound, risking her life, etc.—what’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do (even if it wasn’t life threatening!)? How’d you feel afterward?
8. In one passage, the book titles for the series are somewhat explained: “My eyes shifted to the trickling river. Come spring, it would be ten times as wide and just as deep. On and on it went, rushing toward the distant horizon. Like time. Like life. Sometimes gently falling from one pool into the other, other times fast and cascading, and still other times narrowing into a funnel, a torrent of knots and waves.” Have you experienced life like that? Identify three times in your life that feel like a Waterfall, a Cascade, and a Torrent. Which one describes your life right now?