1. Where do we begin???
“…but all endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time.”
Where does novel start?

2. Such a guy!
What group of kids like Eddie, and which ones didn’t? How did Eddie feel about them? Why might this be?
How is the reader informed about Eddie’s past?
Flashback- Eddie recalls events that occurred at Ruby Pier from the time he was little.

3. Time goes by… What has happened to Ruby Pier over the years?
What are some memories that Eddie has?
Flashback- fighting with his brother, falling in love with Marguerite.

4. Oops there it is…
What was the point of the young man with the new driver’s license?
Foreshadowing- the key is lost in one of the rides, which may cause trouble.

5. The Journey
What is Eddie questioning once he reaches his first part of heaven?
Eddie is unsure of where he is, why he is not in pain and if he saved the little girl.

6. What about family?
What is Eddie’s relationship like with his family when he is young?
What does he reflect on?
Eddie loves his mother and fights with his father, although he is always looking for his approval.

7. Who is the first person?
The Blue Man is the first person he meets in heaven.

8. At what point of life does Eddie arrive?
Why is the Blue Man Eddie’s first person?
Eddie inadvertently caused the Blue Man’s death by running in front of the car he was driving. The Blue Man crashed, and then died of a heart attack.

9. Shhhhhhhhh….. Why can’t Eddie talk at first?
People can’t talk in heaven at first because it forced them to listen to someone else?
Why might that be important?

10. Whose heaven is this???
Ruby Pier is the Blue Man’s heaven b/c it is where he felt the most at home.
What does Eddie think once he realizes he accidentally caused the Blue Man’s Death?
Eddie thinks he needs to pay for, or serve a penance for causing the Blue Man to die.

11. The Blue Man’s Lesson
 From this, Eddie learns his first lesson which is that there are no random events in life and all individuals and experiences are connected in some way
He tells Eddie he has to go through four other lessons that he did not discover when living on earth. He is going to go through a journey to discover things about himself and others
What is the question he asks the blue man at the end?

12. Second person come on in!
Continuing his journey, Eddie meets the second character, his old Captain
What were some of the things that the war taught Eddie?
Ultimately, Eddie learned different tactics on how to survive the war
After being freed from capture, what did the men do? What happened to Eddie

13. I’m a survivor! What did the Captain do to Eddie? Why?
What is his second lesson?
The second lesson Eddie learns is that sacrifices are part of life
The Captain states this so that Eddie could continue to live and his sacrifice cost him his life, he’s passing it on to someone else.
What is the one question Eddie asks the captain?

14. Open your book to pg 32 In your notes…
Choose one quote from the Blue Man that you think is important.
Must be a quote from the Blue Man
Write down the quote and explain what it means and why it is important to the story, your life or life in general.
Pages 32-50

15. “There are no random acts. We are all connected.”
Blue Man is a Wise Man
“There are no random acts. We are all connected.”
“Fairness does not govern life and death. If it did, no good person would ever die young.”
“Strangers are just family you have yet to come to know.”
“No life is a waste. The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone.”

16. Captain’s Wise Words
“Sacrifice, you made one. I made one. We all make them. But you are angry over yours. You kept thinking about what you lost… You didn’t get it. Sacrifice is a part of life."

17. Tough “Love”
When Eddie continues his journey, who does he see at the diner?
Who is the third person Eddie meets in heaven?
Ruby is the third person he meets and the person the pier is named for (Ruby Pier).

18. Forgive and Forget Ruby’s Third Lesson
Ruby states that Eddie’s father had too much of a negative impact on him his whole life
He needs to forgive to move on to be truly happy
What is the one question that Eddie asks Ruby?
Forgive and Forget

19. Ruby is so smart…
“Holding anger is a poison...It eats you from inside...We think that by hating someone we hurt them...But hatred is a curved blade...and the harm we do to others...we also do to ourselves” (Albom 141).

20. The Fourth Lesson
The fourth person Eddie meets is his wife, Marguerite.
Where does Eddie end up meeting her?
Why?
Marguerite truly emphasizes love that couples have for one another

21. Through thick and thin…
What ends up happening to Marguerite when Eddie is at the race track?
Why can’t they adopt the child they wanted?
Even after the car accident and years of recovery, their love for each other gets them through difficult life situations

22. What’s Marguerite’s lesson?
Even though she ended up dying, their love lived on death does not stop love
Eddie was angry for years because of her death, but Marguerite was with him all along
What does Eddie ask Marguerite?

23. “‘Lost love is still love, Eddie… It takes a different form, that’s all. You can’t see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it. Life has to end… Love doesn’t’” (Albom 173).

24. Who is this fifth and final person?
Tala, a little girl that was a civilian from the Philippine war
What ends up happening to this character?
Unfortunately, Eddie discovers that because of him Tala ends up dying
How?
Due to when Eddie set the hut on fire, Tala could not escape and ended up dying

25. What does the little girl tell him to do?
Tala states to him to “wash her” of all the burns she had received when she died.
In doing so, this creates a sense of “cleansing” for Eddie and what he did to her

26. What is Tala’s lesson to Eddie?
Throughout the novel, Eddie questions his own life and working at the pier
Tala comforts him by saying that there's always a purpose for your life
By working at the pier he protected the children that looked up to him
What question does Eddie ask Tala?

28. List 3 possible themes / key ideas of the novel…
There are no random acts because all people are connected.
Endings are not always the end, but more often a new beginning.
The ultimate power of love and forgiveness.
Sacrifice is a part of life that is often misunderstood and under appreciated.