BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS

BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS

Note: Questions may contain spoilers. Please read the book prior to reading the questions.

When the Navy reactivates the dolphins, Eva has no control over this. Discuss how stressful that might be for her, particularly the fact that Jose doesn’t get his passport, visa, and security clearance in time to accompany her.

Axel’s security clearance is granted faster than Eva expected, since he’d worked for the US government before. Given his unique set of talents with sound systems and identification, brainstorm in what capacity Axel may have done government work. Hint: this might come up again later in the series.

Initially, Eva gives her roommate Sarah a bit of the cold shoulder but warms up to her quickly. Why is that and how does it relate to Eva’s past experiences with the military? Note: this may go back to events covered in book one,

Killing Dragons

.

Does Captain Caleb Williams do the right thing when a stowaway is found aboard the USS

Bougainville

? Eva learns about how Taffy got her scar while with Thomas, but what might Caleb be piecing together about Eva’s past with Thomas?

Does anything surprise or interest the reader about the Panama Canal, specifically Barro Colorado Island and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute?

Discuss the geologic forces behind seiches and tsunamis. Can seismic forces really cause both? What are the reader’s thoughts on glacier calving causing a tsunami? With increased glacier calving, is that somewhat terrifying? Look up YouTube videos online to watch seiches in pools and glacier calving. Review tsunami safety while you’re at it—just in case.

When running for their lives from the tsunami at the Panama Canal, Eva gives Taffy instructions, then Taffy must trust Eva and take a leap of faith over a lock wall. Discuss the relationship between Eva and Taffy and how it affects their ability to work together to solve problems and evade danger.

After the tsunami, Captain Williams pauses their voyage to Hawai‘i to provide humanitarian relief to the people of Panama. Is this unusual for the US Navy? Research other examples where the military has used its resources to assist civilians after natural disasters.

While handing out water to locals, an old wise woman approaches Eva. Who does the woman remind Eva of? What does she say to Eva and why?

How might Thomas’s and Daniel’s childhood experiences have prepared them for their adventures in

Dragon Clan

?

Thomas’s mother Koko frantically calls him when his grandmother Luahine goes missing. What is his grandmother up to? Who might she be with? Why would Luahine’s physicians have concern that she might have delusions and dementia? Does their diagnosis and treatment plan show disregard toward Luahine’s devoutly held religious beliefs?

Koko is an archeologic anthropologist with an esteemed academic career. Is her skepticism toward her mother’s beliefs warranted? Some might say that Koko has rejected her heritage and harbors internalized racism. What are the reader’s thoughts on this?

Luahine is a

kahuna

ho‘omanamana

in the Hawaiian religion. Discuss what this means. Are there other types of

kahunas

? What type of training is involved to become one?

What are

mo‘o

s and

‘aumakua

s? Why would Luahine want to bring one back? Why did she choose a genetically engineered

Megalania

to harbor her ancestor’s spirit? Who was Kaili’ohe Kame’ekua? How are Luahine’s beliefs in an ancestral protectorate spirit similar to other religious beliefs the reader may be familiar with?

Kale Jairus, the hidden cave guide on Kaua‘i and one of Luahine’s spiritual students, is attacked by something in the excavated fishpond on Maui which once held the royal palace. What are the implications if these were baby cloned

Megalania

that attacked him? The police wave it off as mongooses, an invasive species in the Hawaiian Islands. Research the introduction of mongooses on the Hawaiian Islands and the havoc they’ve produced.

During the HURT 100 on Oahu, what is Kaili trying to accomplish at the waterfall? Why does she respond to Soledad the way she does? Who else does the

mo‘o

respond to similarly and why?

Why do people on Moloka‘i persist in asking Soledad if she’s from there? Who might she resemble and why?

Comment on the cultural divide between Thomas’s young cousin Kai and his father Mauna, who is Luahine’s younger brother and close in age to his niece Koko.

Read about the abolishment of the

kapu

system (who did it and why) and how this related to the destruction of the temples. Did nonroyal Native Hawaiians have something to gain by this? What cultural and religious gaps might have been left, which Christian missionaries then filled? Might some have continued their religious practices in secret?

Research the use of Molokini Crater and Kaho‘olawe island as bombing ranges during World War II as well as the efforts to abolish these practices and restore Kaho‘olawe’s forest and ecology. Did people once live on Kaho‘olawe and if so, in what capacity?

When Soledad endures an unusual injury, after which the ER doctor files a report because the mechanism of injury doesn’t explain the diagnosis, what does the reader think about what might actually have occurred, according to the

mo‘o

system of belief?

While waiting on Soledad’s X-ray results at the hospital, Koko learns new information from Romina and starts piecing together the truth. What might that be?

Eva’s research assistant Jose is highly intelligent and has severe autism. Describe how he stows away twice, helps the dolphins escape, then assists Thomas in the rescue of Luahine.

At what point does Luahine realize that she chose the wrong partner for her endeavor? Is there anything she could have done differently to remedy the situation? Does Julian meet a just end?

In the finale, does the

mo‘o

have a role in saving Luahine’s

‘ohana

from destruction? Why does Kaili end up at the top of the waterfall? How might this have occurred? Discuss the role of myth and religion in explaining the unexplainable and how the different characters (such as Eva, Mauna, Luahine, Koko, and Soledad) in the story view this.

What does Eva need to tell Thomas? Why has she put this off for so long? What could Eva have done differently if she had a do-over? Who encourages her to tell Thomas the truth and why? Does Eva do a good job of it?

Are Thomas’s and Soledad’s reactions to Eva’s revelation realistic? Are their plans to allow Soledad to stay on Kaua‘i with Koko and Luahine for the summer then live with Thomas in Kansas to attend high school good for Soledad?

What does the term

‘ohana

mean to the various characters in

Dragon Clan

? This discussion might extend to the dolphins’ idea of pod.

Seeking relationship advice from the happy couple Romina and Mel, Laura and Daniel as well as Sarah and Axel make future plans, which the reader may want to discuss further. Does the reader see a path forward for Thomas and Eva in their relationship with each other?