copyright by Lisa J Lickel, 2016
NOTE: These questions contain spoilers for those who have yet to read the book.
1. The characters in Innocents Pray make individual choices
while still being under the greater authority of God. What influenced the major
characters to make the choices he or she did in the novel? How do you make
decisions?
2. The names of the characters
are significant. How does each represent the personality of Libby, Vic, Jordan,
and Able?
3. Able said he could feel
despair in other people. How or did that trait affect the choices he made?
4. At what point was Libby
ready to admit that she was sick again? Did you ever feel like Libby and want
to run away from everything? Why or why not? Was Libby justified in what she
tried to do?
5. How did Nona fit into the
Davis family equation? What kind of influence did Nona have over each member of
the family?
6. Libby looks at her world
with artist’s eyes, often focusing on little details versus the big picture.
How did her outlook influence the decisions she made?
7. How did Brother Able’s
religious convictions direct the way he lived and treated others? What were
some of the more profound influences on his choices? Do you agree or disagree
with how he treated the patients, staff, friends, Vic, Libby, Emily, Nona, and
Rich?
8. How did the faith or lack of
faith of the others in the story besides Able influence their lives?
9. What kind of person was Rich
Bernard? What, ultimately, did he want to do? Was he right or wrong?
10. How is the way both Libby
and Rich handle tragic events in their lives similar and different?
11. When did you realize the
identity of the speaker behind the hunting and chat website entries? The man
and his gun was Jordan, who showed how adept he was on the computer, and how he
learned he could transport a weapon. Surviving11 is also Jordan, who takes his
online handle from the year his life changed, at age eleven. What did you learn
from the online discussions?
12. How different and similar
were Libby and Vic’s and Nona and Able’s parenting skills? Did those skills
affect the choices they made in other areas of their lives?
13. Able told Libby they had
put God to the test when she asks “What have we done?” on page 264. Did Able
and Libby take an active or a passive role in Rich’s decision? What else could
they have done?
14. Do you think Jordan meant
for his final action to have the consequences it did? Discuss his motivation.
What led up to his solution to the problems in his life?
15. Feeling as if we have
control over a situation is another powerful influence in making decisions. Did
the characters feel as if they could control their lives? How do you think each
of them reacted according to that sense of power or control?
16. Do you agree or disagree
with Able’s response to Libby about God being able to forgive a person
incapable of asking for forgiveness for himself? What about Able’s response to
Vic’s question about how God answered each of the prayers for Libby’s life?
17. Did each character in the
story get what he or she asked God for? Or deserve?