(Any suggestions, feel free to contact me )

A Teacher's Reader's Guide to THE KILLING SEA

1. This is a novel of a tremendous tragedy that caused a great loss of life. The story has many wrenching scenes. What scene did you find most difficult to read? Why? How should an author write responsibly and sensitively about a tragedy like this?

2. The major characters are Sarah, her younger brother Peter, and Ruslan. Which character do you identify the most with and why? Is Surf Cat a character? What role does he play in the novel?

3. At the start of the novel, Sarah is a self-absorbed teenaged girl. What inner qualities do you think she has that will help her after she survives the tsunami?

4. By the end of the novel, Sarah has changed. Describe this change. What brought it about? What things symbolize this change?

5. How does Ruslan change? What does he gain at the end of the novel that he doesn't have in the beginning?

6. Early on, Sarah says to her mother, about the Muslim Acehnese, "They should respect my culture." What do you think about this? In what ways is respect between cultures a two-way street?

7. Ruslan is a devout Muslim. Sarah is not religious. What role does faith play in each of their lives in this story? What role does doubt play?

8. Do you think the rebels were right to loot and take valuables from corpses so that they could feed the survivors?

9. Describe the commandant at Calang. He is a fictional character in the story, but what do you think he symbolizes?

10. The previous summer, Sarah had accidentally found her mother's diary in the closet. Was it wrong for her to have read it? Why or why not? What role does privacy play in a family? Do these roles vary from family to family? What are some things about parents should be private, that children should respect? What some things about children's privacy that parents should respect?

11. Ruslan is an artist. He believes that an artist bravely sees the truth of things. What do you think this means? Are some people more artistic than others, or are all people artistic, but in different ways?

12. The fate of Sarah's father is never made clear. Why did the author leave it like this? What do you think happened?

ACTIVITIES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. The 2004 Asian tsunami was caused by an undersea earthquake. What other natural events will cause a tsunami?

2. Write a short paper on other great natural disasters and loss of life have happened in history.

3. What natural disasters might occur in the area in which you live? What emergency plans are in place? Do you know what to do if such a disaster occurs?

4. Try opening a can of tuna with only sticks and stones (warning, this can get messy).

5. Write a short story, any way you want, about what you think happened to Sarah's father.

6. Think of something in your life or your community or your surroundings and draw, any way you like, what you see is the truth of it.