Many thanks to the Book Clubs that have already made Pennies from Burger Heaven one of your reading selections. If you have questions and would like me to visit your book club, either in person, or through Zoom/Face Time, please email me: marcy@marcymckay.com.
As you talk about Pennies, please keep in mind there are over 2.5 million homeless children in the U.S. today. That’s one in every 30 children …
Spoiler Alert!
1. Discuss Copper’s views of classism at the cemetery, as well as the world view beyond the gates of Eternal Peace (Somebodies vs. Nobodies)?
2. What are your thoughts about the Warrior Angel/magical realism portrayed in the novel?
3. On the surface, it seems that Copper’s mama is a “bad mother”. Look deeper. In what ways is she a good mother?
4. Copper Daniels sees cemeteries as mystical, magical places. How do you see cemeteries?
5. Addiction and mental illness affect more than just the homeless. What should be done to improve treatment for these often undiagnosed diseases?
6. Although Pennies is told through the eyes of a child, it’s a dark, gritty world in which Copper Daniels lives. Which scene was most difficult for you to read, and why?
7. Forgiveness is a central theme of Pennies from Burger Heaven. Did Copper’s mama deserve her forgiveness?
8. In America today, there are over 2.5 million children (one in every 30 children) who go to sleep without a home of their own. How does it make you feel about disadvantaged children?
9. After reading Copper’s story, how has your view of the homeless changed? If it hasn’t, why not?
10. What do you see for Copper’s future?