We're not just talking about geographic exploration when it comes to this theme and the characters in What Happened to Goodbye—although Mclean and her dad do move around a lot. No, we're also talking about a journey of personal exploration that Mclean and the characters around her are undergoing. Pretty much everyone digs deep at some point in this book, and emerges with a new and improved personal understanding.
Questions About Exploration
- Why does Dave decide to take a service industry job even though he's a kid genius who can intern at a prestigious laboratory if he wants to?
- Do you think that Mclean and her dad like living in so many different places in a short period of time?
- Why does Mclean decide to go to the Poseidon by herself after she leaves her mom's beach house?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Even though he could have graduated early, Dave decides to go to public school and take a part-time job because he wants to explore what it's like to be an ordinary teenager.
Even though Mclean's lived in all sorts of different places, her real self-exploration comes when she stays in one place for a while—Lakeview.