Discussion Guide 

 

     1.      The story hinges on the relationship between Bee and Sydelle, seventy years apart in age and light years apart in experience. What do they see in each other? How does the relationship develop?   

 

     2.      Nate envisions a community that is ruled by its residents but avoids “the tragedy of the commons”—that a shared resource degrades when individuals act in their own self-interest. Do you think such a community could be created? Would you want to live there?  

 

3.      The Friends of White Bear Ranch believe they are working for the public good. They don’t seem to know that their leader, Katie Morrison, uses dubious methods. Would they continue to follow her if they truly understood her manipulations? Should they?  

 

4.      Bee’s doubts about her boss’s motives grow over the four-month course of the novel. So do yours. What pushes Bee over the edge, causing her to finally quit her job?  

 

5.      Sydelle knows that in a changing environment, the future of her ranch is uncertain. She wants to leave the land to her son to figure what comes next. Bee disagrees. What do you think should happen to the desert?  

 

6.      Aided by Sydelle’s moral and financial support, Bee decides to finish her education and set off on her own. What’s the significance of her changing her name?