1. The book opens with an epigraph by T.S. Eliot, an excerpt from the poem "Burnt Norton." Why do you think Anderson-Dargatz chose these words? How are they significant? Look up the original poem if you wish. Do you see any other ways in which this poem and the novel are linked?

2. The opening image of fire on the hillside introduces us to the looming danger that will propel Kat and her family throughout these pages. How has the fire changed their lives by the end of the novel? What would their lives have been like had the fire not swept through the valley?

3. British Columbia’s Shuswap-Thompson landscape and ecosystem are integral to this novel. Discuss the natural world in Turtle Valley. How does it contribute to the mood and progression of plot? How do the various characters relate to their environment?

4. How much of myself flits away with each of these tattered memories? How much of myself have I already lost? (p. 289) Discuss Kat’s recollection of the day she and Ezra collected yellow butterflies with Jeremy. What does that memory mean to her? Do you agree with Kat’s ephemeral description of self and memory?

5. There are several occurrences of trapped and panicked birds in the novel. What do you think they represent?

6. Kat sees swarms of ladybugs in Maud’s carpetbag, within the walls and drawers of the house and at the moment of Gus’s death. What is their significance?

7. Do you see a pattern in the ways in which Beth’s “lightning arm” acts up? What do you think is really going on?

8. Kat looks to the example of her grandmother Maud’s life when choosing whether to leave Ezra for Jude. Discuss her decision, and Maud’s. How does Beth fit into this pattern?

9. Ghosts haunt the landscape of Turtle Valley. Who are they? Who sees them, and why?

10. If you knew a fire was approaching your home, what would you save?

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