They had found a donor.
Noel shouted, actually shouted with excitement, when she told him the news. Then he burst into tears. The sound of his colleagues cheering and whooping in the background very nearly tipped Angela over the edge herself, but there was no time for that. They needed to get to the hospital. Between snotty, manly sobs, Noel said he’d get home as soon as he could. They would wake Becky and tell her the news together.
The last thing Angela said to Noel was to drive carefully.
He promised that he would.
Questions for Book Clubs
‘Any observations you want to make about the young man?’
Pete paused and gave the officer’s question about ‘the state’ of the driver real thought.
They were all young. It was late. The girl was wearing party clothes. They’d probably been drinking. Two girls, two boys. Testosterone swirling. The temptation of an empty road. A Seat Leon – the ‘go-to car’ for boy racers.
He opened his eyes and shook his head. ‘No.’
He’d been young himself once, a lifetime ago.
1. Is Pete, the witness, right? Is the only ‘crime’ in the novel that of being young and foolish?
2. Which character did you sympathise with most, and why?
3. Who did you dislike, and why?
4. Where is happiness/comfort to be found in the book?
5. What, or who, ‘saves’ Fran from her all-consuming grief?
6. What does the book have to say about justice? Is it different for different people? Would you ever consider going through the restorative justice process?
7. What good comes out of the tragedy?
8. Could you, or would you, make the same decision Fran and Marcus do with regard to organ donation, if it was someone you loved?
The traffic flowed by and the cold sun shone, and life went on as normal as Harry knelt and finally laid down his guilt.
9. Should Harry be ‘allowed’ to lay down his guilt?
10. Did you find the ending hopeful or sad?