Sarah doesn't rest well and is sluggish when she goes to school the next day. When she finally gets her locker open, she knocks a vase of roses off the shelf, shattering the vase. The sound of the glass hitting the floor brings back memories of Sarah's father's death. Sarah had been the one to find her father's body on the front steps of their home. He'd been held by vampires for weeks, bled slowly, and died a painful death. Sarah discovered the body and had been so enraged that she'd lashed out, striking a window with her fist. Her mother was furious at Sarah's lack of control. As punishment, Sarah's powers were bound and she was forced to heal as a human would, slowly and painfully. She'd also been forced to train rigorously and taught to control herself.

1. Sarah is having a flashback when she thinks about her father's death. A flashback is a literary technique often used to relay information to a reader. Discuss two incidences of flashbacks in Shattered Mirror, how they were written, what information they conveyed and why they were important to the story. Use examples from your life and Shattered Mirror to support your answer.

2. Discuss the ways in which Sarah seeing her father's body on the front steps affected her life, both mentally, emotionally and in her beliefs about vampires. Use examples from your life and Shattered Mirror to support your answer.

3. Do you think Sarah's mother was unreasonable about Sarah's response to her father's body? Why or why not? Use examples from your life and Shattered Mirror to support your answer.

4. Do you think Sarah's mother's response to Sarah's anger about her father's death helped her gain self-control or do you think it may have simply made her suppress her emotions? Why or why not? Use examples from your life and Shattered Mirror to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Often, authors will write about "what they know," and sometimes knowing a little about the author makes the books more interesting. Discuss the following:

1. Research and give a brief biographical sketch of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes.

2. What in Atwater-Rhodes's background may have helped her in writing Shattered Mirror? What may have influenced the way she depicts various characters and scenes?

3. Do you think there is always some of the author's own life in his/her novels? Why or why not? Give examples.

Essay Topic 3

Characters are an integral and important part of almost all novels. Discuss the following:

1. Compare/contrast the characters of Sarah and Adianna. How are they similar? How are they different? Is there a flaw in each of their personalities? Be specific and give examples.

2. Compare/contrast the characters of Christopher and Nikolas. How do they seem different? Which do you like more? Why? Which one seems more of a well-rounded character?

3. Thoroughly analyze how three of the secondary characters in Shattered Mirror help drive the plot and what their contribution is to the storyline. Are any of the secondary characters unnecessary? Indispensable? Which of the secondary characters are likable? Which are either unlikable or even despicable? Be specific and give examples.

(see the answer keys)

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