Hello readers! I created this discussion guide for readers of SHINE, my young adult / teen novel. I hope teachers, librarians and readers of my book will find it useful. You can let me know what you think by messaging me on the contact form of my website http://candygourlay.com. If you have suggestions for more reference materials for SHINE, I would love to hear from you! (Watch out for the Philippine edition of Shine, out in September 2014)
Candy Gourlay
With thanks to:
David Dean for the rain background art on the slides. David also created the cover art for Shine.
Nasser Alzhrani for his photo of a boy in silhouette https://www.flickr.com/photos/n9oori/5720095485/
Amancay Maahs for her photo of a keyboard https://www.flickr.com/photos/amanky/2219631791/in/photolist-4YmVRS-4o9ccD-51snbC-5KRQqA-6zSGuF-5z1A7y
James Blann for his photo of rain lashed Aberystwyth https://www.flickr.com/photos/meblob/2327687240/in/set-72157605196444233
Premnath Thirumalaisamy for his photo of light streaming through an open door https://www.flickr.com/photos/premnath/8074766295/in/photolist-6VgLWc-biWysF-7WuZNd-4zz4mL-cRCVYs-ewQ9DL-8zqLbn-dQVDLs-2sA5yQ-74PBgm-bQkHbv-821cbU-9vY7so-4xKQ2K-6eThju-5tWu3y-a7DC6C-jAHzeE-dWpsLF-dixhGx-b1naNM-6v2sSa-6jY7Le-9mcFii-mNbLn-dSvntQ-6SF22c-c2zEqo-69DwHL-9KxQjj-9ami2w-3Z7cA-cADP2U-7J9Yw-gYD58d-eLKE4-cqBQLW-cqBhgW-6dAeqx-ft2y4m-bD2RWD-Q5i9u-kRZGvo-afniEU-cEfoYd-58FMiU-6swv6S-6ssj2r-6oiegx-813ht6
Thanks to you all for making your images available on CC Attribution.
15. But he’s figured out
where she lives
… and now he
wants to meet.
But now he wants to meet up ...
16. But he’s figured out
where she lives
… and now he
wants to meet.
Rosa does not want to meet her
only friend face to face. What is
she afraid of?
Think
17. But he’s figured out
where she lives
… and now he
wants to meet.
Rosa and Ansel95 develop false
versions of themselves online. Why?
How different are they from their
online personas?
Think
18. But he’s figured out
where she lives
… and now he
wants to meet.Discuss how people portray
themselves online. What about you?
Do you pretend to be something
you’re not? Why? How has the
internet changed the way people see
themselves?
Think
20. Shine is set on Mirasol,
an isolated island where it
never stops raining.
21. When I started writing Shine, there were terrible
floods in Manila where I grew up. I was struck by
how floods that seemed such an ordinary part of
life in the Philippines would be unthinkable
in other places.
23. I also read the short story All Summer in a Day by
Ray Bradbury – about children who live on Venus
where it never stops raining. And what happens
when they meet another child who has actually
seen the sun.
24. SCREEN
GRAB
FROM
THE
FILM
‘ALL
SUMMER
IN
A
DAY’
If you get a chance to read All Summer
in a Day – compare the Venus children
to the people of Mirasol.
Why did they treat
Margot the
way they did?
25. Unending rain is ordinary to the people
of Mirasol. How do you think rain affects
their culture, beliefs and way of life?
Think
26. In a way, Mirasol is just as
isolated as Rosa. If Mirasol were human, what
sort of person would he or she be? Why?
Did you get the sense that the island was also
a character in the story? Why?
Think
29. Think
One could say that several of the
characters in Shine are trapped souls.
Which characters are trapped, and why?
30. When people ask me what Shine is about, I reply,
‘It’s a ghost story.’ But the blurb on the cover says:
‘This is not a ghost story. Though there are plenty
of ghosts in it.’ Do you know what I mean?
31. Here is the cover blurb again:
“This is not a ghost story.
Though there are plenty of ghosts in it.
And it’s not a horror story.
Though some people might be horrified.
It’s not a monster story either.
Though there is a monster in it
and that monster happens to be me.”
35. Shine is told in two voices.
There are two plotlines that
converge at the end.
One of the stories is about twin sisters.
36. I was exploring many dualities: light and
dark, happiness and sorrow, being the same
and being different. Have you noticed the
contrasts and oppositions in the story?
37. What do the the two plotlines
within Shine share?
Think
39. How did the two stories
come together in the end?
Think
40. It never stops raining in Mirasol.
So why is the book called Shine?
Think
41. Thank you for reading
Shine. I hope this
discussion guide got
you thinking and made
the story even more
enjoyable.
42. If you liked Shine, try these:
These are four hugely different books but they all share Shine’s theme
of entrapment. And I loved reading them : left to right, a girl who has
an invisible friend, a boy with Asperger's, teenagers trapped in a
mountain and a boy escaping World War II Nazis.
Hinweis der Redaktion
JC Alcaide
JC Alcaide
JC Alcaide
Amancay Maahs
Amancay Maahs
Amancay Maahs
Amancay Maahs
All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury
What is it like to live with something – if disaster was normal … if disability was normal to you …