Ghost Horse (McNeely)

Discussion Questions
1. How do the movies that Buddy, Alex, and Simon imagine reflect their views of the adult world?  What elements from their lives do you see reflected in their respective imagined "movies"?

2. Buddy views his father as both hero and villain.  How does his view of his father change over the course of the novel?  How does your view of Jimmy change?

3. How did you understand Jimmy's motivations during the course of the novel?  Were you sympathetic toward him?  What do you see as the primary struggles that he faces in the course of the novel?

4. How did you understand Margot's motivations, both in distancing herself from Jimmy, and in being unable to break away from him?  How did you see her economic situation at play in her decisions?

5. Why does Buddy keep his father's secrets?  What is at stake for him, and what is at stake for the adults around him in keeping these secrets?  Does he understand this difference?

6. How did you see each of the boys' family lives reflected in their actions in the novel, e.g., in Alex's desire for order and Simon's obsession with other boys' secrets?

7. What roles do you see Buddy's grandmothers playing in shaping his world view?  What view of the world do you think that he will develop as an adolescent and an adult?

8. What role do you see that the city of Houston plays in forming the characters of the boys in the novel?

9. All of the boys in Ghost Horse suffer losses in their families—how does each of them deal differently with their losses?  Do you think that the book's message is one of despair or hope?

10. How do you think attitudes toward divorce have changed since the seventies? Do you think it is easier or harder for children of divorce now?

11. How do you see children today using media to connect, and sometimes harm each other? Do you think children see themselves and their relationships differently because of their exposure to media today?

12. How do you think attitudes toward race and class have changed in America since the seventies? Do you see a greater or lesser distance between races and classes now or then?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)

top of page (summary)