DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

The Place I Belong

1. Despite a tumultuous time, Finn and Lara have reconciled.  What draws them back together? Have you ever had to forgive someone for deeply hurting you? If not, do you think it’s possible?

2. What is Lara and Finn’s relationship in the beginning of the novel? How does going to West Virginia help? How does their relationship change once they are settled in Nashville?

3. When Lara first meets Briar, she senses that there is more to her. How does she figure out who she is?

4. Lara understands why Finn blames himself for what happens to Arinn, but she also blames herself. Why?

5. When Finn can’t control his life, he resorts to drinking, outbursts, and escaping.  But, yet, he is devoted to his Christian upbringing. Can you understand how one person can be both?

6. Since Finn feels it was his relationship with Briar that put Arinn in danger, he is insistent on being the one to rescue her. Do you agree with his decision to involve himself at the farmhouse?

7. The book is told in first person from Lara’s point of view. How would hearing Finn’s internal voice change the story?

8. Toward the end of the novel, both Finn and Lara’s exes reach out to them. Do you believe that everything is settled from the past?  What do you think of Finn’s reaction to Miller and Lara’s reaction to Audrey?

9. Finn has had a lot of experience with grief in his life. How has he dealt with the separate incidents? Have you experienced grief to this extent in your own life? How did you handle it?

10. Since the beginning of the series, a major theme has been trust and letting others in. For Lara, it was not building up self-defense walls.  For Finn, it was believing that people won’t leave. How have these characters evolved from the beginning of the series… and how is it relevant to Arinn and Pop’s part of this novel?  

11. What do you think of Finn’s surprise at the end of the novel? Are you happy with this as a happily ever after?