Reaching for Sun

by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

Reading Group Guide

 

 

  1. Reaching for Sun is a story about a girl who is like most girls—she fights with her mother, has a crush on a boy, and feels bullied by the popular girls.  In what ways do you personally relate to Josie, and in what ways is she different from you?  How do these differences make you feel?

 

  1. What did you know about cerebral palsy before reading this book?  After?  In what ways does Josie’s cerebral palsy challenge her, and in what ways does it make her stronger?

 

  1. Josie likes to eat breakfast for dinner.  What is your favorite meal?  What makes it so special?

 

  1. Josie, along with her mother and grandmother, has a special connection to her family’s land.  Does your family have a special place—a summer cottage, vacation spot, or even the house you live in year round—that has an important meaning to you?  Why do you feel so connected to this place?

 

  1. Reaching for Sun is divided into four sections based on the seasons of the year.  In what season is Josie happiest?  How do Josie’s relationships with her mother, her grandmother, and her friend Jordan change over the course of the year?

 

  1. Josie wants her summer “to be a wildflower-seed mix (pg. 81).”  What do you think Josie means by this?

 

  1. Josie and her grandmother dream of going to Paris.  If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why? 

 

  1. Josie likes to visit the Lazy Acres nursing home with her grandmother.  Why?  Where do you feel most accepted?

 

  1. Josie uses images from the natural world to describe her own emotional and physical growth, comparing herself to flowers and other plants.  For example, she doesn’t “want to be pruned or pinched back/like a wilting petunia” when her mother nags her about therapy (p. 80).  Which flower, plant, or tree best represents you and why?  How does your favorite flower or tree make you feel?

 

  1. Josie and Jordan are best friends who meet under a willow tree and discover their mutual interest in nature.  Describe your best friend and how you met him or her. What ties you two together?