Schedule:

July 24 - Intro Post for the Read-A-Long - Linky for Participation! - Today!
July 31 - Bewitched Bookworms Pages 7-84 ends with a Noah Chapter
Aug 7th - The Page Turners Pages 85 - 162 - ends with a Noah Chapter
Aug 14th - Candace Book Blog Pages 163 - 239 - ends with a Noah Chapter
Aug 21th - Dazzling Reads Pages 240 - 316 - ends with a Echo chapter
Aug 28th - The Book Swarm Pages 317 - 392
Special Event: Evening of August 28th - Live Twitter Chat with Author Katie McGarry!!!!

Click on the banner to see all the prize details for participation! What can I say I am addicted to read alongs!

And now onto the Questions for the first week:

1. The story starts out with Echo’s thoughts on how she wants to answer her therapist’s questions (snarky and caustically truthful) which are quickly juxtaposed to how she does (milque-toasty and banal).

Who do you think she hides the truth for more, her parents or herself?

I would say that Echo spends the majority of the time hiding the truth from her parents. It is clearly evident from her thoughts that she is always forced to acquiesce to her father's wishes. For instance: Echo had no desire to retake the SAT and GRE but immediately gives in and agrees to retake them once she gauges her father's reaction. Another example is when she is forced to say that she wants to take those business classes to prepare for college, when in reality she is just succumbing to her father's strict demands. It is still early, but I think she is pretty honest with herself.

2. We see Mrs. Collins, the school therapist, interact with both Echo and Noah in the first few chapters. From those interactions, what do you think of her? Is she a prototypical caricature of state care? Or do you think she’s there to make an honest difference in the lives of those she’s there to help?

I truly got the impression that Mrs. Collins was more than the average state worker just shuttling through the kids. She really seemed to care about both Noah and Echo's well being. She went toe to toe with Echo's father and refused to be intimidated by him, nor was she distracted by Echo's stepmother's antics. In Noah's case she obviously took the time to dig a little deeper and believed that there was more to the story than what was written in the file. I definitely think that she was one of those rare finds, someone who has the power to make a difference and willing to go the extra mile to make sure it happens.

3. Noah has two friends, Beth and Isaiah, who have his back no matter what--through thick and thin--and he has theirs. Consequently, his life is a little easier because he has two people who know about his situation. Echo only has one close friend, and Lila will barely speak to her in school.

Do you think Echo would have had an easier time coping and moving on if she had friends like Noah does?

It is hard to say, because I think one of Echo's biggest problems is she is ashamed of what happened and she has secluded herself. I think she is the one who has pushed away her friends out of embarrassment. I think she is afraid to open up and trust anyone because of everything that happened. I am certain she would find that if she let people in, things would be a lot easier.

4 . Echo fixates on a colorful ribbon that sits on the school counselor's desk during their one-on-one sessions.

Do you think this is a case of "Oh, look at the pretty ribbon. Let me zone out while staring at it" , or could it have a deeper significance!

I am sure that the ribbon has a deeper significance, more than just something to zone out while staring at it. There was a brief flicker of some kind of recognition in Echo's mind as she looked at the ribbon. I am anxious to see what the ribbon means.

5 .) Noah and the jacket... Already when Noah and Echo meet for the first time, Noah got angry when Echo forgot her Jacket (pg 34). Then on Echo’s Birthday party Noah gave Echo his jacket when he saw that she forgot hers (pg 54). There is a significance behind his anger when Echo has no coat and it tells already so much about Noah!

Why do you think is Noah so focused on Echo and her Jacket and what does that tell you about Noah's character?

Noah being concerned about Echo not having a jacket shows that he already is developing some feelings for her. I think those feelings are stemming from seeing the scars on her arms, knowing that someone hurt her. Obviously, he has his own scars and he is always trying to hide them, so I am sure he knows how desperately Echo wants to keep hers hidden as well. This act shows that Noah is a caring person who wants to see those he cares about protected and safe.

b) Show us your favorite jacket! Either with you having it on or alone!

6. Echo wears gloves all the time to hide her scars. Not only for her sake, but obviously also for the others. When Noah sees Echo’s scars for the first time he’s shocked.

Do you think this was the moment he began to see Echo in a different light?

Absolutely, this is the moment that changes everything. Once he sees those scars he realizes that Echo is not the perfect, spoiled rich kid he thought she was. Instead he sees a damaged, scarred kindred spirit. Someone who has been hurt, just like him and perhaps someone who could understand him.