Discussion Questions for Josiah’s Books

1. Over the course of the story, we meet a variety of different teachers who model different approaches to educating students. What do you think makes someone a good teacher?

2. Do any of the teachers in this book remind you of teachers you’ve had in real life?

3. Emil is a complicated character. Were there points where you felt sympathy for him? At what moment did your opinion of him shift the most?

4. Bren argues at one point that teachers should prioritize changing hearts over punishing offenders. What do you think of this claim? Is there any truth to Bren’s ideals?

5. Bren’s response to Emil’s crimes is to punish Meliya instead of him. Are there instances in the real world where you’ve observed institutions protect powerful individuals at the expense of their victims?

6. After Meliya’s Compelling, Kalina has to make a variety of hard decisions, particularly in whether she should stay at Chintor after Bren protected Emil. Do you think she makes the right choices? What might you have done in her shoes?

7. Kalina frequently breaks school rules to protect students. What are the boundaries of a teacher’s responsibility? When (if ever) is it right for a teacher to go against institutional policies?

8. Bren and Kalina regularly clash over the story about what it looks like to show grace. When do you think we should show grace to others?

9. How do you think Kalina changes over the course of the story?

10. Could Emil have been redeemed? Do you think he was ever close to changing, or was he just leading Kalina on?

1. Early on in the story, Sian claims that “sometimes the secret to figuring out what really happened is a well-placed half-truth.” What do you think of this belief and her subsequent actions? Can lies sometimes help us discover what truly happened?

2. Did Sindar have any good reasons for preventing Sian’s investigation? Or were all of his justifications flawed?

3. Throughout the story, Darien pushes Sian to break the rules in order to get justice for the orphans. What do you think of Darien’s approach to protecting others?

4. Throughout the story, Sian struggles to determine if she can trust the Arch Heralds. How do you determine whether an authority is trustworthy or not?

5. Why do you think Sindar changed his mind?

6. How do you think Sian changes over the course of the story?

7. What do you think of Sian & Darien’s relationship? Are they a good pair?

8. Why do you think the story ends with Sian being pushed out of the Heralds?