This Is How It Always Is
This Is How It Always Is
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Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child death and transgender discrimination.
Analyze the ways in which Rosie’s sister Poppy’s death affected Rosie’s life.
List the ways in which Poppy’s transition is foreshadowed in Part 1.
What role does Carmelo play in Poppy’s life?
Compare and contrast the ways in which Poppy’s family members express concern about her well-being in Part 1.
Explain Roo’s rationale for creating his video. How does it differ from his parents’ interpretation of it?
What are the fundamental differences between the ways Penn and Rosie see Poppy’s transition in Parts 2 and 3? What are their respective fears in regard to hormone blockers?
Why does Mr. Tongo ultimately see the revelation of Poppy’s secret at school as a good thing?
What effect does Poppy’s exposure to trans people like K in Thailand have on Poppy’s own sense of self?
What lessons do Poppy and Rosie learn while in Thailand?
Analyze what Rosie means in this quote: “Their lives would be a different kind of fairy tale, less magic and more ambiguity, less once-upon-a-time and happily-ever-after and more in between. A middle way” (305).
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