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about the book Book

Club
Pick!
When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, her prognosis is grim.
To maximize the time she does have, she vows to spend her final months
righting wrongs—however she sees fit. She convinces her friend Harvey, who
she knows has always had feelings for her, to help her with a crazy bucket list
that’s as much about revenge (humiliating her ex-boyfriend and getting back at
her archnemesis) as it is about hope (doing something unexpectedly kind for a
stranger and reliving some childhood memories). But just when Alice’s scores are
settled, she goes into remission.

Now Alice is forced to face the consequences of all she’s said and done, as well
as her true feelings for Harvey. But has she done irreparable damage to the
people around her, and to the one person who matters most?

discussion questions
1. How do the alternating “Now” and “Then” chapters
help tell the story of Alice and Harvey’s relationship?
2. Why does Alice lie to Luke about seeing her mom
having an affair in the house? How does this action
set the tone for the rest of the events in the novel?
3. What does Alice mean when she thinks, “It was the
living that scared me” (page 55)? Why does she have
a hard time adjusting to being in remission?
4. How does the possibility of dying affect Alice’s
feelings for Harvey?
5. Do you think Alice is taking advantage of Harvey with
the actions on her bucket list?
6. Is it right for Alice to use her illness as an excuse to
exact revenge on her classmates? Why or why not?
7. Why does Harvey play along with Alice’s bucket list
even though he doesn’t agree with what she is doing?
8. Why is Alice so scared of her feelings for Harvey
post-remission? How does her desire to be in control
of her life ultimately cause her to lose control of it?
9. Does the trip to the amusement park help or hurt
Alice and Harvey’s already fragile relationship?
10. Do you agree with Harvey’s decision to date
Debora? What would you have done in his position?
11. How does Alice’s good deed for her neighbor show
her true character?
12. Does Alice deserve the memorial in school, or is
it taking things too far despite everything she has
done to her classmates?
13. How do the memorial and the events on the spring
break trip ultimately change Alice’s outlook on life?
14. Would Alice’s attitude toward her family, friends, and
Harvey have been different if she didn’t catch her
mom having an affair?
15. How is Alice’s reflection, “For me to have surprised
someone . . . meant that I was doing something
right” (page 304), an acknowledgment that she’s
finally ready for her second chance at life?
16. What do you think happens to Alice and Harvey after
the novel ends?

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