Chapter 32: A Tour of the Galaxy
1). In this chapter and in this section of the book, we get to understand Via better and we also get to understand August through Via's perspective. On p. 83, Via says: "My worst day, worst fall, worst headache, worst bruise, worst cramp, worst mean thing anyone could say has always been nothing compared to what August has gone through."
What does Via mean when she says this?
2). We see a little foreshadow in Via's last comments in this chapter: "But this year there seems to be a shift in the cosmos. The galaxy is changing. Planets are falling out of alignment" (83). What can we predict might happen with August, Via and his family?
Chapter 33: Before August
Chapter 34: Seeing August
Look back at where Via talks about coming home from Grans and her initial reaction to seeing August after four weeks:
I remember very vividly stepping through the door and seeing August running over to welcome me home, and for this tiny fraction of a moment I saw him not the way I've always seen him, but the way other people see him….. and I'd never felt what I was feeling before, either: a feeling I hated myself for having the moment I had it. But as he was kissing me with all his heart, all I could see was the drool coming down his chin. And suddenly, there I was, like all those people who would stare or look away.
Horrified. Sickened. Scared.
Thankfully, that only lasted for a second: the moment I heard August laugh his raspy little laugh, it was over. Everything was back the way it had been before But it had opened a door for me. A little peephole.. And on the other side of the peephole there were two Augusts: the one I saw blindly, and the one other people saw.
What do you think about Via's reaction? Do you think it is okay for her to have seen August in this light? How might the fact that Via sees both sides of the peephole, help her?
On p.87, Via reveals to the readers that she is her grandmother's favorite: "I understood her. And I knew why she said it was a secret. Grandmothers aren't supposed to have favorites. Everyone knows that. But after she died, I held on to that secret and let it cover me like a blanket."
We always look at favoritism as a negative, but why, given Via's situation, would we view this secret as a positive? Why does Via use this secret to cover her like a blanket? What does she mean by that?
Chapter 35: August through the peephole
Given what we just read in Chapter 34, what is the meaning of this chapter title? What does it suggest that Via will share in this chapter?
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