READERS GUIDE

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. Why did Dr. Ian Grey go to Leaps Island? What was he expecting to find?

2. How did Elsa and Nolan evolve during their time on the Island?

3. Why does Elsa want to go to Mars?

4. How was “millennial” Elsa and Nolan’s outlook different from their parents and other inhabitants on the island?

5. What does the Paradise Duck represent in the story?

6. What caused the Grey family to divide when Elsa and Nolan were younger? How do you feel the parents handled the situation? How did Elsa and Nolan cope with the fall out?

7. How much do you think Elsa and Nolan’s actions were caused by nature versus nurture?

8. How do the characters’ pasts affect the way they live their lives in the present and imagine the future? What do you make of the island’s past?

9. Why do so many of the residents of Leap’s Island seem so pessimistic?

10. How do you think Elsa and Nolan’s relationship will be after the end of the book? Will they stay close?