Exposure

Exposure starts with a quote from Rudyard Kipling. When do you think your own fears might be described as liars? Look at the other quotes, in part 2 and part 3. Is it really the mind that determines how deep fear goes? What do you think the George Patton quote means? What about the last quote?

Kaycee is afraid of being watched and being confined, among other things. What are you afraid of? How does Kaycee deal with her fears? Could you learn from her column?

Is Mrs. Foley just being snoopy, or is she, too, afraid? Are there times when you have misinterpreted other people’s actions and words, or when you feel like your own actions have been misinterpreted?

What do you think about Hannah’s family, particularly her father? When you see his pain later in the story, does that make you feel any different about him? What should he have done? If you knew a child in Hannah’s situation, what would you do?

Are you surprised that Mark doesn’t believe Kaycee’s story about the camera? How do you draw the line between not believing someone, and still believing in them as a person?

Tricia doesn’t seem to believe Kaycee either. Do you think Tricia helps Kaycee? Is there a connection between their relationship and Job’s relationship with his comforters in the Bible?

On page 55, this is said about Kaycee: One thing she’d learned from writing her column—everyone seemed to think his or her own fear was the worst. People understood those with the same fear, but thought others who struggled with different ones rather silly—“Why can’t they just get over it?” Do you think this is true? Has this issue affected your life, either in the way you view others, or in the way they view you?

How do Kaycee and Lorraine deal differently with their fears? How does fear change them both? How do they let it change others around them?

Was Nico most obsessed by money or revenge?

Mark accuses Kaycee of stirring up people’s fears by addressing them in her newspaper column. Is that true?  Should we fight fear alone? How would it have helped Kaycee to talk to her mother about her fears? Do you have a fear that you need to share with someone?

Kaycee’s friend, Tricia, has a fear that many women share of never getting married and having children. Do you have any fears about God’s plan for your life? How should you address those fears?

Is Mark right to say Kaycee identifies herself by her fears? What emotions might someone say identify you? Would you be comfortable with that identity? What would you have done if you were Lorraine?

When Kaycee is really in danger, concern for Hannah keeps her going. When has concern for someone else helped you?

Did the author’s use of common fears interwoven into the plot help you more fully experience the fear of the characters?

Were you surprised by the twist? Why or why not?

How does irrational fear limit our choices in life?

How have you responded to irrational fears displayed by loved ones? Has this book changed your attitude towards your responses to those fears?

Did you like the ending as revealed in the Epilogue?

What are the various way in which the title, Exposure, fits this story? What is your worst fear? What if it came true?