Dear Mr. Knightley (February)

Discussion Questions:
*Why is one of Sam's reactions to fear or discomfort to run? What's her back story? 
*Why do you think Sam's benefactor, (a.k.a. Mr. Knightley) has chosen this alias to communicate with her?
*What kind of relationship do Sam & Hannah have?
​*Why is Sam always quoting books (especially to Hannah) when she doesn’t know what to say? 
*What happened to cause Sam to move in with the Conley family? And how does Mr. Knightley continue to spoil her? 
​*Ashley says: "You've got this wall around you...figuratively speaking." Is she right about Sam? What kind of walls do you put up? 
*What is one of Sam's earliest tragic memories of her father? (When she was about 6 years old. p. 136) How did her mom react? And how did that event create a domino effect for the rest of Sam's childhood?  
*Sam said that Kyle would need "more courage to learn to surrender" than he'd needed to survive his abusive childhood or write about it. What does surrender mean here? 
*Alex told Sam that he doesn't like to disappoint people. Is that a failing or a virtue?
*How hard is it for Sam (and for us) to recognize a Wickham or Henry Crawford in our lives? In this book it's Josh; why do we let these real-life characters impose on us or injure us? Josh leads Sam on for awhile, & she is falsely led to believe things are just fine in their relationship. 
*What does Sam learn from the Muirs? (Especially once she becomes their adopted daughter.) 
​*Would you have been mad at Alex for the secret he withheld from Sam for over a year? Are you glad she finally forgives him? Would you have forgiven him & loved him anyway? 

Favorite quotes or passages:
"I gravitate toward Fanny Price, morally spot-on, but commonly thought dull. Or Anne Elliott, demure & kind, not one to stand out in a crowd. Those dear friends I understand."  

"First it was a question, then he seemed to find an answer & he deepened it. I've heard all sorts of things about a kiss (melting, fireworks, music) but no one ever told me it's a conversation: asking, accepting, deciding, inviting, giving...Questions posed & answered."

My Rating: ***** 
(5 stars!!!!) 

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