Discussion Questions (PART TWO)

[Kushti, Conquering YA One Book at a Time]

So here's part 2 of the discussion questions. SPOILERS FOR CHAPTERS ONE - THIRTY ONLY !!!


4. The only person Sage seems to trust is Imogen.
Why do you think they have such a strong bond?
5. Why does Sage put the kitchen knife under
Tobias’s mattress? Why doesn’t Sage tell Mott
or Conner that Tobias attacked him?
6. Do you think Sage is like a caterpillar that goes
wherever he wants without being noticed? Or as
Mrs. Turbeldy believes, is he like a cockroach that
runs freely in the night but scatters in the light?
7. Sage says that it’s not easy to be one type
of person when you’ve worked so hard to
be a different type of person. Have you
ever pretended you were a different type of
person than who you really are? What was
that like?

Full list of questions can be found here: http://www.scholastic.com/motherdaugh...

[Kushti, Conquering YA One Book at a Time]

4. He can relate to her just as he did with his mother and he sees that he can protect her, as he never got the chance to protect his mother.
5. Sage needed to get Tobias out of the contest. The only way to do it was to hide the knife.
6. Cockroach.
7. I tried, but it only lasts about a few days. Honestly, it's just much easier being yourself.

[LauraW]

5. I think putting the kitchen knife under Tobias' bed was an attempt to get Tobias out of the running for prince. It is clear that Tobias is a scholar and not a good choice for prince. He doesn't want Tobias killed, but he would like to have him owe him something. Tobias can be useful in a capacity that he is suited for.

7. I try it every time I play a board game. I am by nature not very competitive, but if the game is to be fun for the competitive people, you need to put up a contest. I love playing, but I have no interest in winning, so I pretend.

[Shaun]

4. Imogen is no threat to him - the only person he meets who isn't. He can also help her, when most of the situation he is in is one where is fairly powerless.
5. He has nothing against Tobias. Everything Tobias and Rhoden do against Sage is out of necessity. They all believe only one can live. They have to do what they have to do. If Sage can neutralise Tobias without hurting him too much, then he'll do that.
6. Sage is both caterpillar and cockroach depending on what he needs to be.
7. This was a large part of my childhood. I think part of the reason this book appealed is because I understood the basic idea of having to be something different to get through hard times (not that my situation was like this - quite different - but the idea was there).

[Bri]

4. I think the only person he seems to trust is Imogen because both of them literally and figuratively cannot say or do what they honestly want to and just have to go with things so they can stay alive or safe.
5. I think Sage put the knife under his pillow to show who is boss and get him out of the competition so that Rhoden can see what really happened and tell Conner in the future if he ever needs to. When Sage didn't tell Conner the truth it showed who the bigger person was and also gave Sage some leverage against Tobias.
6. I think he is both, just depending on what the situation calls for.
7. Sometimes I feel myself doing things I wouldn't normally and it makes me feel like I'm not being true to the type of person that I am. I sort of feel guilty and scared that I might be changing so much, but also like I am growing into who I really am, slowly but surely.