Shut Up & Read discussion

Genre:Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Romance

Book Description:In the wake of WWII, a grieving fisherman submits a poem to a local newspaper: a rallying cry for hope, purpose . . . and rocks. Send me a rock for the person you lost, and I will build something life-giving. When the poem spreads farther than he ever intended, Robert Bliss's humble words change the tide of a nation. Boxes of rocks inundate the tiny, coastal Maine town, and he sets his calloused hands to work, but the building halts when tragedy strikes.

Decades later, Annie Sawyer is summoned back to Ansel-by-the-Sea when she learns her Great-Uncle Robert, the man who became her refuge during the hardest summer of her youth, is now the one in need of help. What she didn't anticipate was finding a wall of heavy boxes hiding in his home. Long-ago memories of stone ruins on a nearby island trigger her curiosity, igniting a fire in her anthropologist soul to uncover answers.

She joins forces with the handsome and mysterious harbor postman, and all her hopes of mending the decades-old chasm in her family seem to point back to the ruins. But with Robert failing fast, her search for answers battles against time, a foe as relentless as the ever-crashing waves upon the sea.


Some things to think about while you're reading. Answer just one or all of these questions, but remember, PLEASE USE SPOILER TAGS when necessary! If you don't know how, ask :)

1. What was your initial reaction to the book? Did it hook you immediately, or take some time to get into?

2. Do you think the story was plot-based or character driven?

3. What was your favorite quote/passage?

4. What made the setting unique or important? Could the story have taken place anywhere?

5. Did you pick out any themes throughout the book?

6. How credible/believable did you find the narrator to be? Did you feel like you got the 'true' story?

7. How did the characters change throughout the story? How did your opinion of them change?

8. Which character did you relate to the most, and what was it about them that you connected with?

9. How did you feel about the ending? What did you like, what did you not like, and what do you wish had been different?

10. If the book were being adapted into a movie, who would you want to see play what parts?

Starting.

Started. I love the idea of a town like Ansel. I'm not sure I would like to live there, though....too small, lol.

I like the story so far. Back and forth timelines don't always work, but it does here.

Sheri wrote: "Started. I love the idea of a town like Ansel. I'm not sure I would like to live there, though....too small, lol.

I like the story so far. Back and forth timelines don't always work, but it does ..."

I don't always like back and forth timelines but they make it clear when I time change so no confusion

I am really enjoying this story. Ed's story was so sad! I love how despite not going to war for his country Bob/Robert did a lot for the people who were left behind and everyone he came in contact with. I did feel bad for him for his unrequited love with his brother's wife. The whole community is so quaint.

Leigh wrote: "I am really enjoying this story. Ed's story was so sad! I love how despite not going to war for his country Bob/Robert did a lot for the people who were left behind and everyone he came in contact ..."

I'm enjoying it, too. Bob has a great heart. It's sad that Jenny didn't keep in touch with them.

William's story is so sad!

What a great story. I really liked it. Incredibly sad but also redeeming.

Sheri wrote: "Leigh wrote: "I am really enjoying this story. Ed's story was so sad! I love how despite not going to war for his country Bob/Robert did a lot for the people who were left behind and everyone he ca..."

Yes, all the different stories are so heart breaking but also heartwarming.

Sheri wrote: "William's story is so sad!"

Yes, it was.

Sheri wrote: "What a great story. I really liked it. Incredibly sad but also redeeming."

Yes, it was a great story. It makes me want to go to that lighthouse.