One Book, One San Diego 2007

• Welcome
• Resources
• Discussion Toolkit
• Author Biography
• About "Enrique's Journey"
• Q & A with the Author
• Discussion Guide and Questions
• Book Club How-To
• Book Group Kit FAQ

• Learn about the current
  One Book, One San Diego Selection

Discussion Guide

There are many ways to begin a book discussion in your own home, workplace, neighborhood bookstore or coffee shop, public library, church, etc. The idea behind One Book, One San Diego is to have all citizens in the San Diego area reading the same book at the same time, creating a kind of citywide book club and sense of community.

The first step in conducting a book discussion is to visit any of the 35 San Diego Public Library locations, bookstores or the One Book, One San Diego web sites at www.sandiegolibrary.org or www.kpbs.org/onebook and download the resource guide. The resource guide will include discussion questions as well as a biography of the author.

After obtaining a resource guide, pick a date to gather a group of friends, relatives or co-workers to discuss the book. Having trouble gathering a group together? No problem: The San Diego Public Library will offer many public book discussions at its locations throughout the city. In addition, Borders, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf locations, and the Starbucks Coffee's store downtown at Fifth Avenue and F Street are offering book discussions. Check out the events calendar for dates and times.

Once you have your group together, an easy way to begin the book discussion is to ask everyone in your group to bring a favorite passage or question to the meeting and spend some time going around the room and discussing each one. Next, using your resource guide, focus on the main aspects of the book-settings, themes, characterization, etc.

For example:

• What in particular did everyone like about the book? Was it the characters? The way they were rendered by the author? Were they well-developed, or did you leave the book wanting to know more about them?
• What about the way the story was told? How did the voice of the book affect the reading of it? Did the voice draw you in or distance you from the story as you read?
• What are the main themes? Do any of the themes relate to topics or events in the news? Were there major conflicts in the book and were they resolved in a convincing manner?

One of the easiest-and most rewarding-things you can do with your group is to read the book and then attend a lecture by the author. Check the schedule of events on this web site to find out when and where these events are taking place.

The San Diego Public Library will also provide "BookClub in a Bag" to book groups. "BookClub in a Bag" is everything you need to set up and maintain your own book discussion group! Each bag contains:

• 10 copies of the book
• Questions and reviews for the book
• Author's biography

The San Diego Public Library will have 25 "BookClub in a Bag" sets available for checkout. Each bag may be checked out for three weeks.

Discussion Questions

"Prologue"

1. Examine the author's background. What about that background gives her empathy for her characters?
2. Examine the author's writing process as described in the text. What evidence do you see of the pre-composing and prewriting process?
3. Discuss the shift in immigration from the 1980s to the present. What economic and political factors might account for the shift? How does this shift impact people's attitudes about immigration? How does this shift impact the dangers of the immigrant journey?
4. What predictions can you make as you read?
5. The author says that immigration is "a powerful stream, one that can only be addressed at its source." What is the meaning of this statement?

"One"

1. Discuss Enrique's relationship with his mother. How is that relationship different from the relationships each has with other people?
2. In this section, the seeds of Enrique's desire to follow his mother are planted. What "seeds" can you find?

"Two"

1. Discuss the attitudes toward immigrants and immigration Lourdes and Enrique encounter in Honduras, Mexico, and the United States. Do those attitudes differ even within different parts of each country?
2. Summarize Enrique's early attempts. Why does each fail?

"Three"

1. Describe Chiapas. How is it different from other places Enrique travels?
2. The gangs aboard the trains are portrayed in both a positive and negative light. How?

"Four"

1. What is the significance of the statue of Jesus that Enrique encounters?
2. How does the journey change at the point of this encounter?

"Five" and "Six"

1. Describe Enrique's final journey into the United States.
2. What problems develop almost immediately when Enrique is reunited with his mother? Do these problems surprise you?

"Seven"

1. What motivates Enrique to stay in the United States? What things make him wish to return to Honduras?
2. What factors cause conflict between Enrique and Lourdes? How do they seek to overcome these factors?
3. Contrast Enrique's life in the United States with the life he left behind.