Center of the World (Sheehan)

Discussion Questions
1. After the massacre takes place, Kate Malloy reacts instantly to protect Sofia. What might have been an influence from her past that made her react so dramatically? The death of Kate’s mother is driving her decisions in other areas of her life. How does it resonate with Sophia?

2. Kate is a scientist and a graduate student who has little experience with children. Discuss her evolution of responding to Sofia as a mother while they are in Antigua.

3. There are complicated issues surrounding Kate’s decision to take Sofia out of Guatemala? Did she make the right choice? Was it right to pull the child out of her Mayan community? Was there any other choice that she could have made?

4. Times of war, disaster, and the constant state of heightened senses can throw people together in the illusion of love. Is this what happened to Kate and Will? Or did they fall in love so deeply, regardless of time? What other parallels pull the two of them together?

5.  Discuss how Will’s initial excitement about his job opportunity as a Language Specialist blinds him to the military forces at work in Guatemala?

6. What is Jenkins final revenge with Will? Discuss how a lifetime of war can create cruelty, as with Jenkins, or kindness and bravery, as in the case of Fernando.

7. Kate makes a choice to protect Sophia and Will. What price does she pay for lying about Sofia’s heritage and the circumstances of her adoption? How does it affect Sophia, Sam, and Kate?

8. How is it possible for Kate to remain in love with Will, and yet find another man to love and marry?

9. Kate is haunted by dreams about and visitations from Manuela, Sophia’s mother. Sophia has a deep inner knowledge that she a twin brother. How does the Mayan belief of ancestors relate to this story? Who are the ancestors who influence this story? Does your understanding of Martin’s motivations change over the course of the book?

10. Sam, Kate’s father, is a steady anchor for her, but he has also been scarred by war. How does he change from the experience of traveling to Guatemala?

11. Sophia is a soccer star at her Massachusetts high school. How do the threads of soccer bind Sophia to her homeland?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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