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- How are each of the girls—Sylvia, Angela, Gigi, and the narrator
August—similar or different?
- How does Woodson portray female friendship? What difficulties do
August, Sylvia, Gigi and Angela face?
- Do you think August did not realize her mother was dead or did
she just not accept it?
- Death is a recurring theme in the novel. In what ways does
August deal with death, if at all? Does she ever confront the
subject?
- August’s mother had taught her that girls and women do not make
good friends. What did she mean by this? How does August’s
experience with her girlfriends support or contradict this idea?
- Why do you think that August does not find comfort and hope with
her father?
- August’s brother comes to love learning math. Why does it appeal
to him? What role does education play for each of them as they grow
into adulthood?
- What complex forces drew the four girls apart as they grew
older?
- Discuss race relations in Brooklyn in the 1970s as described in
this novel.
- Discuss the role of friendship in the novel.
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