| Characters: |
| 1. |
Are Hailey and Claire such good friends simply because they live next door to each other? What experiences have they shared that contribute to their friendship being as strong as it is? In what ways are they different?
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| 2. |
What makes the girls feel that Claire's grandfather can be trusted with their secret? How do they know he will believe their story and agree to help? Why can they not share their secret with other adults in the story?
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| 3. |
Claire has always been the one to make the plans in the past, but suddenly Hailey is the one who is coming up with ideas that will help Aquamarine. What gives Hailey this new confidence in her own ideas?
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| 4. |
Claire is fearful of the water at the beginning of the book, yet by the end of the story she has learned to swim. What events lead to this change? Where does she find the courage to overcome her fears?
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| 5. |
What kind of person is Raymond? Did you expect him to agree to have dinner with Aquamarine? Do you think he actually found her again in Florida?
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| 6. |
Discuss Aquamarine's personality. Compare her to mermaids in traditional folklore. Is she what you would expect a mermaid to be? Why does she act the way she does? What influences have shaped her actions and words? Why do the girls want to help her?
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Setting and Theme: |
| 1. |
What images does the author use to create the setting for her readers? Discuss the atmosphere of the Beach Club, the intense heat of the summer, and how these play a part in the story.
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| 2. |
Why is the Beach Club described as being so run-down?
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| 3. |
Hailey's mom gives Claire's family a basket when they leave with a photograph of "the house that was left behind." The author calls it one of the "necessities for anyone who leaves home." Yet Hailey decides not to take a photograph for Claire of the Beach Club being demolished, and Claire decides not to take a photograph for Hailey of Aquamarine swimming in Florida. Why are these photographs not "necessities"?
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| 4. |
"Time has a habit of moving too fast," says the author on the evening that Raymond has dinner with Aquamarine. What are some of the ways the author uses time in this story? How does the passage of time affect each of the characters? How does it affect places in the story? What part does it play in the plot?
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| 5. |
Alice Hoffman's novels for adults have often been described as grown-up fairy tales. In what ways does Aquamarine remind you of a traditional fairy tale? In what ways is it different?
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