When We Believed in Mermaids: A Novel

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussions of sexual assault of a child, alcohol/drug use/addiction recovery, abortion, suicide ideation, parental neglect, and homicide.

How do Kit’s memories of their shared childhood differ from Josie’s? How do these differences highlight the way in which shared experiences had a different impact on each character?

What reason does Kit give for her parents’ neglect of her and her sister throughout their childhood? How does this characterize the parents? What commentary on the role of parents does the novel offer?

How does Kit initially respond to seeing her sister on the news report regarding the nightclub fire? Why did O’Neal choose to use two violent episodes to express Josie’s death and her reappearance in Kit’s life?