Good Graces

by Lesley Kagen

Overview

To this day, my sister insists it was nothing more than the unrelenting heat that drove us to do what we did that summer, but that’s just Troo yanking my chain the way she always has. Deep down, she knows as well as I do that it wasn’t anything as mundane as the weather. It was the hand of the Almighty that shoved us off the straight and narrow path… 

Whistling in the Dark—a national bestseller—captivated readers with the story of ten-year-old Sally O’Malley and her sister, Troo, during Milwaukee’s summer of 1959. Now it’s one year later, and Sally, who made a deathbed promise to her daddy to keep Troo safe, is having a hard time honoring her vow. Her sister is growing increasingly rebellious amid a string of home burglaries, the escape from reform school of a nemesis, and the mysterious disappearance of an orphan—events that have the entire neighborhood on edge. And in that tense, hot summer, Sally will have to ground her flights of imagination, and barter her waning innocence, in order to sort the truths from the lies to protect her sister and herself.  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780451236654
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/01/2012
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	669,710
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Lesley Kagen is the author of the national bestseller Whistling in the Dark, Land of a Hundred Wonders, and Tomorrow River. She lives near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Reading Group Guide

INTRODUCTION

Whistling in the Dark captivated readers with the story of ten-year-old Sally O'Malley and her sister, Troo, during Milwaukee's summer of 1959. In Good Graces, it's one year later, and a heat wave has everyone in the close-knit Milwaukee neighborhood on edge. None more so than Sally O'Malley, who remains deeply traumatized by the sudden death of her daddy and her near escape from a murderer and molester the previous summer. Although outwardly she and her sister, Troo, are more secure, Sally's confidence in her own judgment and much of her faith have been whittled away. When a series of disquieting events unfold in the neighborhood—a string of home burglaries, the escape from reform school of a nemesis, and the mysterious disappearance of an orphan, crimes that may involve the increasingly rebellious Troo—Sally is called upon to rise above her inner demons. She made a deathbed promise to her daddy to keep Troo safe, a promise she can't break, even if her life depends on it. But when events reach a crisis point, will Sally have the courage and discernment to make the right choices? Or will her false assumptions lead her and those she loves into danger once again?

 

ABOUT LESLEY KAGEN

Lesley Kagen is an actress, voice-over talent, and restaurateur, as well as the author of two previous national bestselling novels. Whistling in the Dark has been translated into five languages and was a Midwest Choice Honor winner. Land of a Hundred Wonders, an Indie Next pick, was also nominated for a Midwest Choice Award. She lives near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Let's talk about the time and setting of the book. Does it resonate with you? If so, share some memories of those good old days.

Children are not allowed the same freedom today as they were back in the fifties and sixties. As in all things, there are positives and negatives. Can you think of a few?

Much of what Sally and Troo learn is gleaned from eavesdropping and gossip. Communication between adults and children has dramatically changed over the past fifty years. Discuss how it was back then versus now.

Adults seem to think traumatized Sally suffers from over-imagination, cured with weekly does of cod liver oil. How does their treatment of her differ from how victimized children are cared for today?

How much of Sally's devotion to Troo is based on love for her sister versus her deep sense of responsibility to her daddy? How you do think Troo sees Sally?

The Catholic Church plays an important role in the neighborhood. Do you think religion still plays as vital a part in our lives as it used to? Why or why not?

Sally has a pretty good grasp of the racial, sexual and class structures in the neighborhood. Growing up, were you aware of prejudices? How did they affect your views at the time?

Why do you think Sally depends on Ethel so much? What does she get out of the relationship?

Family dynamics are complicated, but none more so than the relationship between sisters. Can you describe your experience with your sister or sisters?

So much mental illness went undiagnosed during these times. Name a few characters who might have been a lot better off had they been born now rather than then.

What do you think of Helen as a mother? Do you find her strong/disinterested/a product of her era?

Near the end of the book, the girls commit an act that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Discuss how you feel about how they handled the situation. What would you have done in their shoes?

After Sally visits Sampson at the zoo, he doesn't seem to recognize her. Sally is surprised that she isn't really bothered that much by his cool reception. Why do you think this is? How had Sally changed since the beginning of the book, and if your read it, since Whistling in the Dark?

What do you suppose happens to the main characters after the story ends?

Editorial Reviews

A beautifully woven story…You will weep for and cheer on the O’Malley sisters…[and] immediately miss them once the last page is turned.

Heather Gudenkauf

Good Graces deftly dwells in ’60’s Milwaukee. Through her preteen narrator, Sally O’Malley, she (Kagen) evokes the joys, sorrows and complexities of growing up…” — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“A beautifully woven story…You will weep for and cheer on the O’Malley sisters…[and] immediately miss them once the last page is turned.” — Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of These Things Hidden

“Moving, funny, and full of unexpected delights, this is one sequel that just might be even better than the original gem. Kagen crafts a gorgeous page turner about love, loss and loyalty, all told in the sparkling voices of two extraordinary sisters.” — Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You

“For all the praise garnered for Whistling in the Dark, Good Graces more than lives up to its predecessor.” — School Library Journal

“Spend happy hours following the O’Malley sisters through the sweltering summer of 1960 on Milwaukee’s West Side. This humorous, passionate novel of childhood is full of evocative local detail and the lives of wild, smart children.” — Milwaukee Magazine

From the Publisher

Kagen revisits the tumultuous lives of the O'Malley sisters in this spot-on sequel to her bestselling debut, Whistling in the Dark. In the sweltering summer heat of 1960 Milwaukee, life is almost back to normal for the 11-year-old Sally and her 10-year-old sister, Troo, after the events of the previous novel, and their widowed mother is now dating Sally's biological father, Dave Rasmussen, a detective. Though narrator Sally is staying out of trouble, Troo is stealing from the five-and-dime and talking dirty with boys, activities that earn her some time spent under the tutelage of Father Mickey, the new pastor at church. Meanwhile, burglaries have been occurring in the O'Malleys' neighborhood, and children have been winding up dead or missing. With their mother occupied with plans to remarry, Troo and Sally hatch a plan to catch the person responsible for the mayhem, and while the culprit isn't exactly surprising, the repercussions of the girls' ill-advised plan certainly are. Kagen does a remarkable job of balancing the goofiness of being an 11-year-old with the sinister plot elements, creating a suspenseful yarn that still retains an air of genuine innocence. Readers who enjoyed the first book are in for a treat. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Moving, funny, and full of unexpected delights, this is one sequel that just might be even better than the original gem. Kagen crafts a gorgeous pageturner about love, loss and loyalty, all told in the sparkling voices of two extraordinary sisters."

Caroline Leavitt

"In Good Graces the mix of light and dark is rendered with honesty, wit and savvy."

The Morton Report

"Good Graces deftly dwells in '60's Milwaukee. Through her preteen narrator, Sally O'Malley, she (Kagen) evokes the joys, sorrows and complexities of growing up..."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Spend happy hours following the O'Malley sisters through the sweltering summer of 1960 on Milwaukee's West Side. This humorous, passionate novel of childhood is full of evocative local detail and the lives of wild, smart children."

Milwaukee Magazine

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