Everlasting Nora
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6. In Chapter Three, Nora says Mama is “sick” with “gambling-itis.” What does Nora think about Mama playing all-night mahjong games? Does it sometimes seem like the mother and daughter roles are reversed with Mama and Nora? How does that make Nora feel?
7. What do we learn about the “Holy Week” fire in Chapter Four? After the fire, Nora and Mama go to stay with Papa’s aunt, Lola Fely. How does her treatment of Nora and Mama change over time? What does Lola Fely reveal about how Nora’s parents met, and what does this information make Nora realize about her mother’s relationship, and her own, with Lola Fely and Papa’s cousins?
8. What does Tiger tell Nora during the confrontation in her grave house, and what does Tiger steal? In Chapter Five, in the aftermath of Tiger’s break-in, Nora observes: “I gazed, numb inside, at the clothes strewn on the floor and at the bruised leaves of my sweet potato plant.” Throughout the story, Nora monitors the condition of her cherished sweet potato plant. Does the plant’s struggle to survive, even flourish, in punishing conditions mirror Nora’s own journey? Can you think of examples from the story that illustrate this?
9. In Chapter Six, Nora describes meeting good-natured Jojo for the first time, and wondering: “Who did this boy think he was? And why was he so at ease in a place like this?” Why is Nora surprised by Jojo’s attitude? Why is Nora cautious about becoming friends with Jojo?
10. Mama tells Nora early in the story that Papa’s spirit will watch over them and come to them if they need it, but only in dreams. In Chapter Eight, Nora dreams about Papa’s watch “crumbling to ash.” What do you think the dream means?
11. When she is back, Mama tells Nora about going to Lola Fely to ask for a loan. How does that visit lead to Mama complaining about money troubles to her mahjong friend Rosie and borrowing money from Tiger’s boss, Mr. Santiago?
12. In Chapter Nineteen, Jojo tells Nora: “Kids who live in the cemetery care and want the same things you do, but they’re like me. They live day to day. We are happy to be alive, to have something to eat and a place to sleep. We say, bahala na! Come what may! It will be too depressing, otherwise. Maybe the other kids keep their distance because you remind them of what they should be thinking about.” Whose approach do you think is more effective for navigating cemetery life, Nora’s or Jojo’s? Why?
13. To comfort Mama while she’s ill, Nora reads her “A Tree with No Name: The Legend of the Mango Tree.” In spite of being nameless and unable to bear fruit, the tree is kind, and a magical creature rewards its compassion by giving it fruit and a name. Can you cite examples from Everlasting Nora where Jojo, Lola Mercy, Little Ernie, Mang Rudy, or other cemetery squatters’ attitude of generosity toward others in spite of their own struggles and hardship echoes the message of the Filipino folktale?
14. In Chapter Twenty, Perla and her mother (Aling Lydia) visit Nora’s grave house. Nora thinks of Perla: “Maybe I thought her bossiness meant she was mean, when all along, she was just shy, like me.” How does this realization change Nora’s view of Perla?
15. In Chapter Twenty-five, Tiger is chasing Nora and startles her. She falls back, is knocked out, and awakens inside a tomb. In this scary moment, Nora finds something familiar: “My hand brushed something round, papery. I grasped it between my fingers, feeling the points of dry flower petals prick my skin. Everlasting. Even in this dark hole, it was still intact, still whole.” How does finding the dried everlasting daisy renew Nora’s confidence and courage? In this dire situation, and throughout the story, has Nora herself needed to be “everlasting”—trying to stay “whole” in the “dark hole” it sometimes felt like her life had become? Why do you think the author chose to use the word “everlasting” in the title?
16. In the last chapter, leaving for the hospital to get Mama, Nora observes: “As we pulled away, I realized that my grave house looked brighter.… The shadows of sadness were gone and all that remained were the odds and ends of our daily lives. Mama was coming home.” Have Nora, and the story, come full circle, with Nora finally seeing her cemetery home, and maybe some of the dark trials of her life, in a new light? Nora still has struggles ahead, but do you think she’s learning that broken families, homes, and maybe even hearts can be mended in time?
POST-READING ACTIVITIES
Take the story from literature to life with these fun and inspiring activities.
1. MEMORIES: A PRESENT FROM THE PAST. In Everlasting Nora, the author often begins a scene in Nora’s present-day life, then something triggers a memory from Nora’s past; the narrative moves back in time to that moment, then back to the present. Invite your child to write or tell you about an experience, from their own life, following that format. For example, “I was sitting at school and we were learning about the ocean, and I remembered when our family went on a trip to the beach…” Encourage them to “circle back” to the (recalled) present moment to end the story. You and your child might also discuss why memories are so powerful for Nora. Although darker memories can sometimes overshadow her ability to find the goodness in the present, revisiting the happy memories helps Nora feel close to people and places she loved. You can encourage your child to celebrate the present and the past by going on a “Make a Memory” date with family members or friends. Plan a fun outing, trip, or activity, and find or make souvenirs to remind you of your favorite part of the adventure. Then set a date in the future to gather with the same group, share your mementos, and revisit the memory you all “made” together.
2. FOOD FOR THOUGHT. In Everlasting Nora, Nora and her mother struggle to afford food, so Nora is often hungry and has a heightened awareness of food, and how various dishes look, smell, and taste, as well as their preparation. The sight or smell of certain foods can also trigger powerful memories for Nora. Invite your child to make a cookbook with you. Ask your child about favorite foods, “comfort foods,” and special foods they associate with particular memories, celebrations, or family traditions. Talk about the foods that evoke special meaning or memories for you too. You might also discuss foods that are unique to your family’s cultural background. Use your own recipes, consult library cookbooks or cooking magazines, or go online to find ingredients and directions for preparing the snacks, sweets, and dishes you talk about. You might even reach out to friends and relatives and invite them to contribute recipes, with a short explanation of why a dish is special to them. Compile the recipes (annotated with the notes) into a three-ring binder. If desired, your child can decorate the cookbook pages. When guests visit, you can prepare recipes from your “Family & Friends Flavorites” cookbook.
3. HEARTS AND CRAFTS. Seeing wind chimes at a street market the day they move from Lola Fely’s house to the cemetery reminds Nora of Papa helping her make her own capiz-shell wind chime for a school project. Mama and Nora hang the wind chime in the grave house as a small but powerful reminder of happier times with their beloved father and husband. Invite your child to do an arts-and-crafts project with you, to celebrate a special person or place, as well as being an opportunity for you to spend time working on a creative project together. You might make a Popsicle-stick picture frame to display a picture of the person or event. Place Popsicle (or “craft”) sticks in the desired shape and size, then glue together. After the glue is dry, decorate the frame with glued-on beads or shells, stickers, or colorful paint. Another special project you might try with your child is putting together a scrapbook. Discuss special events, trips, or adventures you’ve shared with family or friends and ask your child to pick one. Together, review, select, caption, and decorate around pictures of your chosen subject. Making and enjoying the scrapbook will give you an opportunity to revisit that special time together.
READING EVERLASTING NORA IN YOUR CLASSROOM
These Common Core–aligned writing activities may be used in conjunction with the pre- and post-reading discussion questions above.
1. POINT OF VIEW: Everlasting Nora is narrated by tenacious but shy Nora. Her age, living situation, and money struggles, as we
ll as being an only child and losing her father and home, shape her view of the events and other characters in the story. Have your students consider how key events or sites in the story might look from another character’s perspective. Have students write a 2–3 paragraph, first-person description of life as a squatter in the Manila North Cemetery, from the viewpoint of Mama, Jojo’s grandmother (Lola Mercy), or Nora’s neighbor, Little Ernie.
2. COMMUNITIES AND RELATIONSHIPS: For some, the Manila North Cemetery is just a temporary home; for others, it has been their home for generations. Nora learns that many of the squatters work together as a network of neighbors, a community. Have students imagine they are government officials in the city of Manila whose boss has asked them to write up a report about what is working well, and what some of the biggest problems are, in the community that has developed in the cemetery. Use details from the novel to identify and describe positives (one section) and negatives (one section) in either a two-paragraph, or two-page, report. Ask students to think about the pros and cons Nora and Mama encounter as they adapt to their new life in the cemetery, to inform their report.
3. TEXT TYPE—OPINION PIECE: Jojo gets mad at Nora for taking the risk of sneaking into dangerous thug Tiger’s grave house to recover Papa’s stolen watch. Jojo asks Nora to promise she’ll wait for him at her grave house the next morning so they can return to Tiger’s for the watch together, but then Jojo sneaks into Tiger’s grave house that night to try to get the watch back by himself instead. Have students write a one-page essay explaining why they agree or disagree with Jojo’s decision to sneak into Tiger’s grave house on his own to recover the watch. (Remind them to be sure to consider competing factors, like how much Lola Mercy depends on Jojo and how serious the stakes are for Nora and her mother.)
4. TEXT TYPE—NARRATIVE: Have students describe, in the point of view of Jojo, the day Nora arrives at the cemetery. How do they “meet” Nora? What is Nora’s attitude toward them? What is her attitude about moving into the cemetery? What is her mother’s (Mama’s) attitude toward them? Do they think it will be easy or hard to win Nora’s friendship? Why?
5. RESEARCH AND PRESENT—HOW DIFFERENT CULTURES HONOR THE DEAD: In Everlasting Nora, Nora talks about how her father’s passing was marked in her family, and how she and Mama continue to honor Papa’s memory and think about his spirit’s role in their life. Have students work in small groups to do library or online research into different cultures’ traditions around celebrating loved ones who have died, or customs around death that reflect a particular culture’s beliefs about relationships between the living and the afterlife. Students might pick from subjects such as: Filipino fortieth-day death anniversary; All Saints’ Day (as celebrated in the Philippines); Mexican Day of the Dead; Egyptian customs around mummies, death, and the afterlife; Native American death rites and rituals. After they complete their research, the student groups can organize and present their findings in oral presentations to the class.
6. RESEARCH AND PRESENT—A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PHILIPPINES: Author Marie Miranda Cruz delicately threads local language, customs, and cuisine throughout the novel, making the Filipino culture itself like a colorful banig (woven mat) on which the story of Everlasting Nora rests. Have students choose an aspect of Filipino history, geography, or culture, and research it online or at the library. Possible subjects might include: Manila North Cemetery; everlasting daisies; Luneta/Rizal Park and the “flower clock”; Philippine national hero Jose Rizal; typhoons or other extreme weather that affects the Philippine Islands; mahjong; Filipino folktales. Use the research to create a PowerPoint or other multimedia presentation to share findings with classmates.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS COMMON CORE WRITING STANDARDS
W.3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.7; W.4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.7; W.5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.7; W.6.2, 6.3, 6.7; W.7.2, 7.3, 7.7
About the Author
Writer and scientist MARIE MIRANDA CRUZ grew up in the Philippines, and her work reflects her multicultural roots, both in the country of her birth and in her adopted California. Everlasting Nora is her debut novel.
Visit her online at cruzwrites.com, or sign up for email updates here.
Twitter: @cruzwrites
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Glossary of Tagalog Words
Author’s Note
Starscape Reading and Activity Guide to Everlasting Nora
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
EVERLASTING NORA
Copyright © 2018 by Marie Miranda Cruz
Reader’s guide copyright © 2018 by Tor Books
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Adam S. Doyle
Cover type by Daniela Medina
A Starscape Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-7653-9459-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-31468-0 (international, sold outside the U.S., subject to rights availability)
ISBN 978-0-7653-9461-3 (ebook)
eISBN 9780765394613
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First Edition: October 2018