Lost and Found

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Lost and Found has a wide range of characters, who all have different approaches to life, family, and friends. Which character did you relate to the most, and why?

2. The novel features many emotional scenes as Darcy and Jamee navigate their family difficulties. Which scene with these sisters had the most emotional impact on you?

3. Did Lost and Found make you want to read the rest of the Bluford High series or Schraff’s Urban Underground series? Why or why not?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. The novel explores many relationships between the characters, including those between the sisters, their friends, and their caregivers. Which relationship in the story most resembled a relationship in your own life?

2. Have you ever felt pressured or obligated to hide your pain the way Darcy did? How did you deal with that situation?

3. Recalling how Darcy was wrong about Tarah and Cooper, have you ever had an experience where you judged someone too quickly? How has that experience changed your interactions with others?

4. Family is an important feature of the novel, which delves into the complicated, nuanced dynamic of the Wills family. How does Darcy’s family support one another? Do their methods reflect the ways you support your family? Why or why not?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Lost and Found is set in a financially disadvantaged, marginalized urban community. Does the book realistically depict life for people in marginalized communities?

2. Discuss the novel’s treatment of Darcy and Jamee’s parents. How do the portrayals of their mother, father, and even grandmother enter into contemporary conversation about the effects of family instability on adolescent growth?

3. How does Lost and Found reflect the resilience of people who have been through challenging and unfair experiences in life? How do their experiences reflect your own experiences with challenge and resilience?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. How are memories used in the story to emphasize the emotional impact of past events? Why are Grandma’s remaining memories so important?

2. Discuss the novel’s use of its various settings. How does Schraff use Darcy’s home, school, and other settings (like the tidal pool) to deepen thematic meaning?

3. What is the symbolic meaning behind the moon monster? How does it relate to both Darcy and Jamee in different ways?

4. Discuss the juxtaposition of the two sisters, Darcy and Jamee, throughout the story. Why does Schraff make them so different, and how does their portrayal and dynamic contribute to the larger meanings of the novel?

5. How does Schraff use nature throughout the story? What purpose does nature serve in the narrative and themes?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Write a short letter from one character to another, like Darcy to Jamee, Mom to Dad, or Jamee to Dad, expressing all of the unmentioned conflict, hurt, and strain that exists between the two characters.

2. Create a new cover design for the novel’s jacket based on your own artistic interpretation.

3. Imagine you were Darcy; what would you do differently? Sketch out an Epilogue in which you outline your approach to the recent events in the family.