For five years Pearl has managed to keep the past from catching up to her and her bright, frail five-year-old son, Leonard. Life has given her every reason to mistrust people, but circumstances force her to trust her neighbor, Mitch, with watching Leonard while she goes off to work. Then one day Pearl drops her son off --- and never returns.

Pearl, Mitch, and Leonard each have a story to tell. As their lives unfold, profound questions emerge about the nature of love and family. Is it possible to love the people who can't always be there for us? The answers will surprise and move you. But this extraordinary novel's richest reward is watching Mitch and Leonard grow up together, through the power and the magic of the human heart.

1. If Leonard had been born with good health and perfect vision, to what extent do you feel his life would have been different and why?

2. Why do you think Pearl places such a value on cleanliness?

3. If you had been in Mitch's position, and didn't believe Leonard's assertion that Pearl was still "with him," would you want to help Leonard face the truth, or would you consider it kinder to allow him that delusion?

4. Do you think Leonard's "forever love" is possible in a romantic involvement? Or do you feel that such a totally selfless love is reserved for parental situations or other more "pure" devotion?

5. Because of the three separate character viewpoints, you knew what Mitch and Leonard initially didn't: Pearl's fate. If you had not seen this through her eyes, what would you have believed?

6. What do you think Leonard is looking for in his scrapes with death?

7. Have you ever felt an ongoing emotional connection with a loved one after his or her death?

8. Mitch's home environment was not ideally stable, but Leonard certainly didn't lack love in Mitch's care. Do you agree with Leonard's adoption into a two-parent home?

9. Harry was cast in a fairly negative light through most of the book, as seen through Mitch's eyes. Did you feel any empathy for him and his situation before Mitch did? If not, why do you think that was the case?

10. What do you think Barb means when she says of her long-standing relationship with Mitch "Maybe it's the stress that holds it together"?

11. Why do you think Mitch didn't fight back against Harry in their final meeting? Do you agree with Barb that he didn't feel entitled?

12. Leonard is in search of a last name and an identity through most of the book, but in Mitch's dream, Pearl says, "Leonard knows who he is." Do you agree with that statement?