The Midnight Library

These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the novel.

Personal Response Prompt

Imagine a decision that you made in your life; it can be large or small. Consider what would have happened if you’d opted for a different choice. What would your life look like? How might it be different? Do you think you could have enjoyed that life?

Teaching Suggestion:  This prompt can lead students to imagine many different lives and to speculate on the importance and consequences of personal choice. Discussion in small groups or with the class as a whole will pique students’ interest to explore the Midnight Library with Nora.

Post-Reading Analysis

Nora experiences very different lives for herself, and she learns something about herself in each version of her life. Did she make the right decision to come back to her life just as she had left it? Why or why not?

Teaching Suggestion: Students might discuss this question with regard to the theme The Point of Life Is Life Itself. For example, Nora experiences love and success in some lives; what qualities make a “good” life worth living? Continued opportunities for discussion or personal reflection on individual goals and future plans can tie in with this analysis.