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Reading Group Guide

Discussion Questions

Secrets of Harmony Grove

1. The grove is an important part of the story. Did you feel a real sense of place when Sienna was there? If so, how do you think that was accomplished?

2. It’s obvious from the first chapter that Sienna has scars inside and out from an incident in her past. When that incident is finally described, does that seem to come at the correct point in the story? Should it have come sooner? Later? How do you feel when a significant part of a character’s past is withheld for too long --- or revealed too soon?

3. Liesl says that she is like a kite and her husband is the string. Did this analogy resonate with you? Which of these two might you and your spouse/significant other be, if either?

4. The epic poem The Metamorphoses is about unrequited love. How did this parallel the relationship between Abe and Daphne? Between Sienna and Heath?

5. In one of Daphne’s poems, she condemns those who looked away during the Holocaust, saying they were as guilty as those who actively participated. Do you agree? How did that parallel Sienna’s experience from ten years before?

6. In the story, Sienna chooses between Heath and Mike. Were you happy with her final choice? How do you feel about the saying “opposites attract”? In what ways should a successful couple be alike and in what ways can they be opposites?

7. At one point, Sienna muses that she’s more like her grandfather than she had previously realized. Do you agree? In what ways are they similar, and in what ways are they different?

8. What is your stance on nonviolence and turning the other cheek? How tolerant are you of Christians who take the opposite position? Has your opinion been changed at all by reading this book?

9. As you read the story, did you think the diamonds had already been found? If not, where did you think they were hidden?

10. This book deals with a number of weighty topics. In spite of that, when you were finished, did you feel uplifted? Why or why not?

Secrets of Harmony Grove
by Mindy Starns Clark

  • Publication Date: October 1, 2010
  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
  • ISBN-10: 0736926259
  • ISBN-13: 9780736926256