Candlewick Press Discussion Guide

BY

SILAS HOUSE

AND

NEELA VASWANI
ABOUT THE BOOK

An Indian girl who has emigrated to New York City and a coal miners son from Kentucky seemunlikelykindredspiritsyetthatiswhat pen pals Meena Joshi and River Dean Justice quicklydiscoveraboutthemselves.Underneath theirsurfacedifferences,theyhavesomuchin common:familiestryingtogetbyinhardtimes, fathersworkingawayfromhome,grandmothers whomeantheworldtothem,aninterestinsocial action,andevenfaithfuldogs.Funny,sometimes testy,andalwayslively,theirletterspowerfully captureonemomentousyearinthelivesoftwo friends who live far apart but are growing up beneaththesamesun.
HC: 978-0-7636-5684-3 E-book: 978-0-7636-5747-5 Also available on audio

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. hydidMeenastartwritingtoRiver?Whydotheymainlyusesnailmail,note-mail?Howdoletters W differfrome-mail?Howmighttheirrelationshiphavedevelopeddifferentlyiftheyusedonlye-mail? Doyouprefertoreceivee-mailorletters?Whichdoyouprefertosend? 2. eenasolderbrother,Kiku,saysthatallpeopleinKentuckyareAmericasnotlikeNewYorkCity, M wheremostpeoplearefromeverywhereintheworld(page1).Isthistrue,orastereotype? AccordingtoRiver,howdosomeKentuckiansviewNewYorkers? 3. eenasgrandmotherinIndia,Dadi,livesontheothersideoftheworldfromMamaw,Rivers M grandmotherinKentucky.Whatarethesignificantdifferencesinthelivesofthesetwowomen? Whataretheimportantsimilarities? 4. iverspendsmostofhistimewithMamaw,andMeenaisclosefriendswiththeelderlyMrs.Lau. R Whatdoyouthinkyoungpeoplegainfromarelationshipwitholderpeople?Areyouclosetoan olderperson?Whathasheorshetaughtyouaboutlife?
illustration copyright 2012 by Andrea Dezs

5. hatismountaintopremoval(MTR)?Whydocoalcompaniesusethisminingprocess?Whydo W someofRiversneighborssupportMTR?WhydoMamawandRiveropposeit? 6. uotingMamaw,RivertellshisclassmatesthattheonlywaytobeagoodAmericanistospeakup Q forwhatyoubelievein(page67).HowdoRiversteacherandprincipalrespondtothatremark?Do youagreewithit?

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 7. henMeenagoestocitizenshipclass,theteachersays,Thatswhatitmeanstobean W American.Tobefreetolovewhoandwhatyouwant,andtokeepalotinyourheartatonce (page262).Doyouagreewiththis?WhatdoesbeinganAmericanmeantoyouandyourfamily? 8. eenaandRiverbelievethatmountainshavedifferentmoods.(Meenabelievesthatcitiesdo,too, M butRiverdoesnthaveenoughexperienceincitiestohaveanopinion.)Whatdotheymeanbythat? Haveyoueverseenamountain(oracity)changemoods? 9. eitherMeenanorRiverhasapermanenthome.WhyareRiverandhismotherstayingwithhis N grandmother?WhymustMeenasfamilylieabouttheirlivingarrangement? 10. eenaispartoftheDramaClub,andRiverlovesplayingbasketball.Howdoyouthinkgroup M activitieshelppeople?Towhatgroupsorteamsdoyoubelong? 11. ikeallgoodwriters,MeenaandRiverarebothpassionatereaders.Whataresomeofthebooksthey L recommendtoeachother?Whichhaveyoualreadyread?Whichwouldyouliketoread?Why? 12. hatiscivildisobedience?HowdoesMamawuseitinherfightagainstMTR?HowdidRosaParks W usecivildisobediencetocombatsegregationinAmerica?HowdidGandhiuseitagainstBritishrule inIndia? 13. eenatellsRiverabouttheChipkomovementin1970sIndia.Whatwasitsgoal?Whatwereits M tactics?HowwasitsimilartowhatMamawistryingtodoinKentucky? 14. heredoyouseeinjusticeinyourcommunity?Istheresomethingyouwouldfightforbecauseyou W believeinitsostrongly? 15. Ignorantpeopledontknowanybetter,MawmatellsRiver,butstupidpeopleWANTtobestupid (page103).Whatdoyoubelieveisthedifferencebetweenignoranceandstupidity?Whichismore dangerous? 16. he2008presidentialelectionoccursduringthecourseofthisnovel.Whyarethetwofriends T followingthispoliticalcontestsoclosely?HowdoesMeenasneighborhoodrespondtotheresult? HowdoesRivers? 17. venbestfriendshavedisagreements.WhatdoMeenaandRiverquarrelabout?Howdotheyresolve E theirdifferences? 18. eenaandRiverseemtofindtruefriendshipwitheachother.Howdoyouknowwhensomeoneis M yourrealfriend?Whatdoesitmeantobeyourowntrueselfwithsomeone?Whatdoyouthink yourresponsibilityisasatruefriendtosomeoneelse? 19. hatsacrificesdidMeenasparentsmaketocometoAmerica?Whydidnttheybringtheirdaughter W withthem?HowdoesMeenafeelaboutstayingbehindinIndiaforseveralyears?Howwouldyou? 20. iversmotherisoftentoosicktobewithherson.Whatisthenatureofherillness?Howlonghas R shebeensuffering?Whendoesshegetbetter?Why? 21. henMeenasendsRiverforty-sixsamplequestions(pages275279)fromthedemandingcitizenship W examherparentsjustpassed,hecanansweronlytencorrectly.Howmanycanyougetright?
illustration copyright 2012 by Andrea Dezs

22. ivermakesthecoverofTimemagazineandisaskedtoappearontheTodayshow.Whydoeshefeel R undeservingofallthisattention?Doyouagree?Whyorwhynot?

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23. sthenovelends,MeenaandRiverareabouttoseeeachotherforthefirsttime.Trytoimagine A theirmeeting.Isitfun?Awkward?Amixofboth?Whatdotheytalkabout?Whatdotheydotogether? 24. akeaclosinglookatthetitle,Same Sun Here.Whatmakesitsofittingforthisbook?Atwhatpoint T inthenoveldoesMeenausethatphrase?

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Silas Houseisthenationallybest-sellingauthorofEli the Goodaswellastheaward-winningnovels Clays Quilt, A Parchment of Leaves,andThe Coal Tattoo.HeisthedirectoroftheAppalachianCenterat BereaCollegeandlivesineasternKentuckywithhisfamily. Neela VaswaniistheauthorofYou Have Given Me a Country,winnerofanAmericanBookAwardand namedaForeWordMagazineBookoftheYear,aswellasofWhere the Long Grass Bends. Sheisalsothe recipientofanO.HenryPrize.SheteachesatSpaldingUniversitysMFAinwritingprogramandlivesin NewYorkCity,whereshefoundedtheStorylinesProjectwiththeNewYorkPublicLibrary.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR SAME SUN HERE venbetterthanreadingarefreshinglyhoneststorybyonetalentedwriteris E

readingonebytwosuchwriters.Publishers Weekly(starredreview) finelydetaileddepictionoftwoseparateworldsthatdemonstratesadeepwell A ofsharedhumanity. Kirkus Reviews

ALSO BY SILAS HOUSE

Eli the Good

HC: 987-0-7636-4341-6 PB: 978-0-7636-5288-3 E-book: 978-0-7636-5173-2

hestoryflowsalongassteadilyasastream,carryingreadersandElito T
theendofsummerandbeyond,intoacodawhereheisanadult.Eliisgood companyandchildrenwillenjoyaccompanyinghimonhisjourney. School Library Journal(starredreview) annilydistillsachildsexperienceofanendlesssummer.Itsslowburn C beliesthedramathatonlyperiodically,butpowerfully,cracksthesurface. Anintelligent,nostalgicchallengetothosewhoinsistteenreaderswont readaboutkidsyoungerthanthem. Booklist

illustration copyright 2012 by Andrea Dezs

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