In response to Aaliyah’s third comment…

I really hope Zach and Lily end up together as well, the only thing that might get in the way is whatever happens when she reveals the truth to the Boatwrights.

I appreciate the way that the writer, Sue Monk Kidd, fills the “holes” or bad things that happen with positive things. Lily is missing a motherly figure, but fills it with Rosaleen by her side. May dies, but fills it when her sister gets married!

The thought of T Ray hunting her down makes me a bit anxious. Had almost the exact same thoughts about the call between T Ray and Lily. Abusers turn into rotten people.

I think the civil rights issues are going to turn out alright, I don’t recall any more feud with Zach and his friends after they have been bailed out. I  think the main issue would be that we as readers know that Zach is a good, polite boy, but the police only see him as a black boy.

This is what I’ve been waiting for to respond on!!! The way Lily has developed throughout this novel is so important. Facing adversity and taking risks, Lily has discovered a new side of her like, her feelings for Zach, her confidence towards her father, and her honesty with August. Something I found interesting was when Lily had smashed a bunch of honey jars against the wall, leaving her with cuts and scrapes. This is a side of Lily we have not yet witnessed. She is not perceived as a violent, ill-tempered young girl, considering all of the crap that has happened to her. Her reasoning behind her act of smashing glass was understandable though. She said to Rosaleen, “She left me. It was just like he said it was. She left me.” For a second the anger I’d felt the night before flared up, and it crossed my mind to slam the shell against the tub, but I took a breath instead” (262).

Do you think Lily has grown in the same way? How have the people in her life shaped her into who she is now, at the end of the story?