Black Mirror
Book Discussion Guide

A Book Discussion Guide for
Black Mirror by Nancy Werlin

Hardcover: Dial Books (2001): ISBN 0803726058
Paperback: Speak Books (2003): ISBN 0142500283

 

Guide by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

About the Book

Frances Leventhal refuses to look in the mirror; she can't bear to face her reflection. She has hidden from herself and everyone around her for such a long time, and now that her brother Daniel has committed suicide, she can't help thinking that it's somehow her fault. If she hadn't been so caught up in her own pain, maybe she would have noticed her brother's. It's time to stop hiding—to reach out to Daniel's friends at their private school. Daniel had been deeply involved in Unity Service, the charitable group on campus, and Frances is determined to join the group and to make amends.

But something's not quite right about Unity, and soon Frances finds herself in the middle of a puzzle too ominous to ignore. Exactly what are the Unity members trying so hard to hide? And why does no one else on campus, adult or teen, seem suspicious of them? This time Frances won't scurry away to hide. The memory of her brother is at stake.

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An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

A Booklist Top 10 Mysteries for Youth

Texas Tayshas High School Reading List, 2002-2003

A New York Public Library Best Book for the Teen Age

 

About the Author

Nancy Werlin is the author of several books for young adults, including the National Book Award finalist The Rules of Survival, the Edgar winner The Killer's Cousin, Booklist Editors' choice pick Double Helix, and the New York Times bestseller Impossible. A graduate of Yale, Nancy lives with her husband in Massachusetts. Visit her web site at www.nancywerlin.com.

Book Discussion Questions

• When describing herself, Frances says, “I drew anything. Everything. Doodles at first. But I had a knack for reproducing what I saw, and soon my paper and pencil – and then later my paints and charcoals – formed a strong, protective wall around me.” How does a skill or talent become a wall? What other talents might serve as a means of separation?
• Daniel tells Frances, “Art doesn’t help anyone, you know. It doesn’t give people jobs, or food, or clothes, or opportunities.” Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
• Frances, while thinking about Eleanor Roosevelt, wonders if a person ever truly gets over the feeling of inferiority. Do you think one can? What contributes to Frances’ low self-esteem? Do you think she still feels this way by book’s end?
• Author Nancy Werlin is known for her subtle foreshadowing. Think of instances when she foreshadowed an event. How does foreshadowing affect the reading experience?
• When accusing James of selling her brother smack, Frances asks him if he abides by the philosophy that “he’s not my brother’s keeper.” What does this mean? Do you believe we have a responsibility to others? When do these lines become blurry?
• When James asks Frances if she feels responsible for Daniel’s death, she slaps him. Why? What is Werlin revealing with this gesture? Was she, as James insinuates, creating an opportunity for violence?
• Discuss the friendship between Frances and Andy Jankowski. Why do you think Frances seeks Andy’s company before the company of others? Do you believe their friendship is genuine? Why or why not?
• Ms. Wiles shows Picasso’s paintings in her art class. Why did Werlin choose Picasso and not another artist?
• Frances wonders what Ms. Wiles was trying to teach them. Was it: “If you think you already know what you’re looking at, then you can’t possibly see that something else is really there”? What does this mean? How does it relate to the story? Can you think of an instance in your life when this was true?
• Frances and Saskia have a complicated relationship. At what points in the plot did their attitudes toward one another seem to shift? Do you think the two girls could ever be friends? Explain.
• How would you define France’s relationship with her brother Daniel? In what ways are they similar? Different? What are the experiences in their lives that helped to shape these similarities and differences?
• Ms. Wiles states, “The best leadership doesn’t always come from the people you’d pick as your friends, Frances. Sometimes you have to be able to work with – and for – someone you dislike for the purposes of a higher goal.” Do agree with this statement? Is there a time in your life you chose to work with or for someone whom you didn’t respect? Why? Do you think Ms. Wiles (Sorenson) had a right to ask Frances to work for Patrick Leyden?
• Both Daniel and Saskia accuse Frances of being naïve. Do you think this is true? Identify places in the story that support your opinion.
• When Frances describes her paintings, she says, “Beneath that coat of paint are all my secret emotions, expressed fully and frankly. You can’t see them at all in the finished paintings -- except you can. You can feel them.” What, do you imagine, are the hidden emotions? Where did these emotions come from?
• Discuss the importance of setting in this story. Consider the town, the weather, Frances’ dorm room. Why is Frances so reluctant to have Saskia enter her room?
• In the end, Saskia defends her actions by saying, “I still only see one way.” Do you believe there was only one way? Did Saskia need to sacrifice one to save many? Imagine that you are the one sitting with her on the daybed. How would your conversation differ from the one that Frances had with Saskia?
• Why did Frances move the covered mirror from Bubbe’s house to her dorm room? Beyond the Jewish custom of shivah, what does the mirror represent for Frances? And in the end, what has been revealed?
  

Copyright

Copyright © 2010, by Jennifer Richard Jacobson. This discussion guide may be used and duplicated freely so long as the copyright information remains affixed.