4. David finds a portal from the Dreamhouse to Taksidian’s home. Dad has always said, “There are no coincidences,” so . . . how do you think Taksidian got that direct portal between the two houses? Who walled it up, and why? What’s the deal with all those bones?
5. Jesse talks about doing something simply because you were asked to, without necessarily knowing what the outcome of your doing it will be. Have you ever been asked to do something without having the reason explained? Can you think of situations in which someone would be expected to act without questioning? What kind of relationship would the doer have to have with the asker to make the situation okay?
6. David is beginning to realize that the house, with its portals to the past, allows him to change history in ways that can save lives—and he wants to do what he can. Have you ever been in a position to make things better, even if it meant doing something scary or dangerous? What did you do? How did it turn out?
7. Keal has known the Kings for only a few days. Still, he wants to protect them and feels “something for them that might have been love.” What about the Kings do you think makes him feel this way?
8. Xander and David like to talk before going to sleep. It’s their way of processing the day’s events, of trying to put things in perspective and calm down. Do you have a special person in your life in whom you confide and bounce ideas off of ? Is there a time of day you like to “unload” your concerns?
9. Jesse studied history to help him understand the places the house took him, and Xander’s knowledge of the Civil War helps the boys know that they changed history for the better. Do you like learning about historical events? What things in the past especially interest you? Why?
10. The brothers follow Phemus to an ancient civilization, a place that historians debate over whether it ever existed. What do you think: Was it a real place? What do you think the people there were like? (Plato describes it in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias.)
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