1. Did Gisela make the right decision to leave Ella and Opa in East Prussia? What might you have done in that situation?
2. Was it Mitch’s fault that he and the men with him were taken prisoners by the Germans at the beginning of the war?
3. Is the lying and stealing that take place throughout the book commendable or condemnable?
4. What effect did her sister’s death have on Gisela?
5. Kurt and Audra used Mitch and Gisela for their own ends. What other ways could they have gone about reaching their goals?
6. What kind of emotional toll did the near-constant bombing of Berlin take on the characters?
7. Mitch says of Gisela, “She collected waifs like people collected porcelain figurines.” What does that tell you about her character?
8. How is levity added to the story? Why is it added?
9. Mitch and Gisela were both searching for redemption. Did they find it? If so, where did it come from?
10. How has the story changed your view of the everyday German citizen during the war?