Are You Alone on Purpose
Book Discussion Guide

A Book Discussion Guide for
Are You Alone on Purpose by Nancy Werlin
Originally published by Houghton Mifflin (1994)

Paperback reprint: Speak Books (2007): ISBN 978-0142407776

 

Guide by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

About the Book

Though fourteen-year-old Alison Shandling is a brain, her twin brother, Adam, is autistic. All of her life, Alison's parents have focused on Adam and what he needs, while Alison has always felt she had to be perfect.

When the rabbi's son, Harry Roth, begins taunting Alison about her brother, she does her best to stand up for herself. But when Harry is injured in a diving accident, Alison senses that he's hiding something that he wants to share with someone. And she begins to think that— strangely—she's just the someone he can share it with . . .

* * *

A Publishers Weekly Flying Start book

An ALA Quick Pick

A New York Public Library Best Book for the Teen Age

An ALA Popular Paperback selection

“A wonderful first novel.” —VOYA

"Characterizations are superb."—Booklist

"[A] moving portrayal of two remarkable teenagers ably coming to grips with their unhappy circumstances and, one is convinced, triumphing in the end." —Sharon Grover, School Library Journal

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, the New York Times bestseller Impossible, and the Amazon.com Teen Top for 2010 novel, Extraodinary. A graduate of Yale, Nancy lives with her husband in Massachusetts. Visit her web site at www.nancywerlin.com.

Book Discussion Questions

• Discuss the title of the book. What do you think it refers to? How do you think Alison would answer this question? What about Harry?
• Are you Alone on Purpose is written from two alternating points of view. Why do you think Nancy Werlin chose to write the story in this way? Discuss the effectiveness of this technique.
• Alison works to be the child her parents don’t worry about. What are the costs of this effort? What are the payoffs? Imagine you can see into Alison’s future. Do you think her approach will change? How?
• Mrs. Shandling, Rabbi Roth, and Alison all worry about playing a part in Harry’s accident. Do you believe thoughts have power? Should any of these characters accept responsibility for the accident? If so, why?
• What is divine justice? Which characters in this story believe in divine justice? What evidence from the book supports your conclusions?
• It has been said that there are no accidents in life. Do you believe this to be true? Explain.
• This story was originally published in 1994. Discuss Alison and Harry’s approach to the internet versus the ways in which teenagers use technology today.
• On his last day in the hospital, Henry calls Dr. Jefferies names, knocks her books and papers to the floor, and accuses her of pretending. What do you believe provoked this angry response? What do you believe Harry needs from Dr. Jefferies?
• Alison walks, uninvited, into Harry’s room and Werlin writes, “Suddenly her sangfroid fled.” What is the meaning of “sangfroid?” Where do you think Alison’s sangfroid came from in the first place? Can you describe a time when your sangfroid fled?
• What causes Alison to insist on time spent with Harry? Would you have done the same in her shoes? Why or why not?
• In what ways are Harry and Alison similar? What makes their unlikely friendship work?
• Discuss Adam’s role in the story. How does his presence shape and/or reveal the personalities of each member of the Shandling and Roth families?
• Both Rabbi Roth and Harry have been profoundly affected by the death of Harry’s mother. How are their ways of dealing with grief similar? How are they different? At one point Rabbi Roth says, “It’s important to keep up the form of things.” Do you think this is true? Why or why not?
• Harry calls Alison, “Queen Nerd,” and it has a surprising effect on their relationship. What changes in this moment? How is the reader affected by the shift in their communication style?
• Reread the pages of the story when Harry challenges Alison to a game of basketball and goads her into calling him “a cripple” (page 133-35). Why is this moment a turning point in their relationship?
• When Harry tells Alison, “I don’t think you’re nuts . . . Just—you’re really on your own planet,” she replies: “Isn’t everyone?” Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
• How does the friendship between Alison and Harry change each of them? Do you think it will affect their futures? If so, in what ways?
  

Copyright

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