Discuss Ward’s use of rotating first-person narratives in the novel. Why do you think she chooses to tell the story in this way?

Compare and contrast the first and last chapters of the novel. What, if anything, has changed? In what ways does that reflect the novel’s themes?

Several characters in the novel have meaningful names: Pop’s name (“River”) connects him to the novel’s water motif; Jojo is named after the racist grandfather who rejects him; and Leonie insists on calling Kayla “Michaela” to underscore her relationship to Michael. How does Ward use names to develop the work’s overall meaning?