Before the Ever After

These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the novel.

Personal Response Prompt

What is a dream or goal for your future that you currently have? How can you take steps toward accomplishing this dream?

Teaching Suggestion: Have students share their dreams and their plans toward accomplishment anonymously with the class. Highlight how all dreams are different; discuss how their dreams may be different from their parents’ dreams. Transition the activity to the text by referencing ZJ’s dream life of being “an NFL kid.” Contrast his life to his own dream of creating music; contrast ZJ’s dream to his father’s dream of being a professional football player. A book trailer viewing might be useful in generating interest and accurate first impressions.

• This review of Before the Ever After describes the novel’s conflicts and plot development.
• This book trailer for the novel provides a quick overview of the book’s tone and offers hints about plot and conflicts.

Post-Reading Analysis

Based on your reading of the novel, discuss your ideas of heroes in real life and in literature. What is the point of a hero? Should any heroes attempt to be perfect? Is the disillusionment of dreams necessarily a bad thing for heroes or admirers? Compose brief responses to these questions:

• What do you think heroes in literature look like?
• How does a character become a hero?
• What is the definition of disillusionment? Where does the idea of disillusionment with regard to dreams come into play in the story?
• How does disillusionment connect to the story’s ideas of heroism?

Teaching Suggestion: Introduce the theme of Heroes and the Disillusionment of Dreams in Before the Ever After. Discussions about heroes and disillusionment in literature could be supported by parallel examples such as finding out a mythical figure like Hercules or the tooth fairy is not real. A graphic organizer would be great to use here for descriptions and examples of heroism and disillusionment. Discussion could segue into conversations about character development through disillusionment (specifically, with reference to flat and round characters).

• a 4.5-minute TedTalk entitled “What Makes A Hero?” by Matthew Winkler on the hero as a literary character and the events that make a character a hero
• a character development resource that provides textual examples of character types and characterization