Introduction

After Pearl Harbor, sweethearts Gordon Hooper and Dorie Armitage were broken up by their convictions. As a conscientious objector, he went west to fight fires as a smokejumper, while she joined the Army Corps. When a tragic accident raises suspicions, they're forced to work together, but the truth they uncover may lead to an impossible--and dangerous--choice.

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Discussion Questions

1. What were some of the main differences that you felt came between Dorie and Gordon throughout the story? Did you see them as irreconcilable, or did you hope that they might get back together?

2. Why do you think conscientious objectors like Gordon and Jack were treated with such contempt during WWII? What do you think of the choice they made and the reasoning behind it?

3. Early on, Lieutenant Vincent Leland tells Dorie that “People are never simple.” What are some ways Dorie learns this throughout the story? How about Gordon?

4. What did you think of the sections of letters and other documents throughout the book?

5. At what point did you wonder if the fire and resulting “accident” that injured Jack wasn’t really an accident? Did you have any suspicions about the cause? As Dorie and Gordon investigated, did your theories change?

6. When asked for her opinion on pacifism, Sarah Ruth tells Gordon, “Men like my brother William are called to raise barricade lines to keep the fire of evil from spreading. . . . Maybe you’re meant to come back to the scorched earth and help something grow again.” Do you agree or disagree with her?

7. The conscientious objectors in the book, like the ones in real life, protested both segregation and the internment of Japanese Americans. Why do you think they were so “ahead of their time” when it came to issues like this?

8. When the secret of Jack’s accident—and the resulting cover-up—was finally revealed, was it satisfying to you as a reader?

9. Both Gordon’s mother and Clara were faced with a violent man threatening harm to people they cared about. Both felt that they made the wrong choice in their actions—or inaction—against those men. Do you agree? What do you think Clara should have done when facing the sheriff? How about Gordon’s mother when confronted with her abusive husband?

10. After reading the real-life historical background in the Author’s Note, do you think it was right in this case for the US government to suppress and censor information for the greater good?

11. Do you feel that, in the end, Jimmy faced appropriate consequences for his actions? What about Mr. Morrissey? Dorie? Is there anything you wish the characters had done differently?

12. Morrissey claimed that the smokejumper’s motto should be “Courage is running toward the fire, not away from it.” In what ways did Dorie and Gordon show this kind of courage throughout the novel?

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