A Reading Group Guide for:

Finale
By Becca Fitzpatrick

About This Book

Now that Nora is a full-blooded Nephil, the oaths that she has sworn are binding. This means that she is sworn to lead Hank’s army against the fallen angels AND squelch the Nephilim rebellion. Failing to do either will exact a terrible price, but she can’t do both. Nor is she sure that she even wants to end the rebellion. So now she has to do the impossible—ensure justice for her fellow Nephilim without losing everything that she loves. Can she find a solution that doesn’t involve a full-blown war? Can she protect those that she loves? And can she keep Patch’s love if every plan involves pushing him away?

Discussion Questions

1. Is Scott justified in hurting others to protect Nora, such as when he brands a fallen angel to prevent her from being branded? What other characters harm or endanger others to save a single person? Is one person’s life worth this sacrifice? Does Scott fulfill his vow in the end?

2. Nora fabricates a relationship with Dante to draw attention away from her real relationship with Patch. Do the people in her life believe in this relationship? Do you know of any real-life examples of this tactic? Is this type of subterfuge usually successful?

3. What is Nora’s original plan for dealing with the Nephilim army and her promise to the Archangels? How does her plan change throughout the course of the story? Why does she feel compelled to change her course of action?

4. Why is Nora at a disadvantage even though she’s now full-blooded Nephilim? How does this affect the way she approaches the upcoming war? Could she have delegated the fighting to someone stronger and run Hank’s army from a distance?

5. How would you describe Patch’s method of dealing with threats to Nora’s safety? How do his actions make Nora feel? Do you think his reaction is the best way of solving the problems they face?

6. Why are the fallen angels so quiet as Cheshvan begins? What is their plan? Why does their invasion of the Devil’s Handbag disturb Nora so much?

7. Dante tells Nora that loyalty is about taking a side. Whose side is Nora on?

8. What does Dante want with devilcraft? Is this different than why Hank wanted it? What makes Nora especially susceptible to the addictive properties of devilcraft?

9. Why do Nora and her friends trust Dante? What is his ultimate goal? Does he end up doing anything that is helpful to Nora and/or her cause?

10. Discuss Detective Basso’s actions toward and relationship with Nora throughout the course of these four books. Do his actions make more sense now that we know who he really is?

11. What motivates Marcie to act the way she does? Are her actions justified? Is she all bad?

12. Why is Nora so jealous of Dabria? Has Patch given her a reason to feel this way? Has Dabria ever given her a reason to not feel jealous? Is Nora’s jealousy helpful or harmful during the course of the story?

13. How does Vee change over the course of the story? Should Nora have explained what was happening to her earlier? Should Vee have told Nora about the changes in her life right away?

Activities

1. The Hebrew month of Cheshvan—which in this case involves fallen angels, Nephilim, and possession—falls during the same time as the similarly “spooky” holidays Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. Research the histories and the traditions associated with these two holidays and compare them to what happens during Cheshvan in these books.

2. Nora becomes addicted to devilcraft, despite the fact that she thinks she can control her usage of it. Is there a way that you can help addicts or former addicts in your community? Volunteer at a hotline, or get involved with a peer counseling program at your school.

3. Unlike Vee, Patch and Nora pledge their lives to each other in a very nontraditional ceremony. Study the wedding traditions of various countries throughout history and compare them to both our modern rituals and the ritual that Patch and Nora employed. Can you find any precedents for Patch and Nora’s bond?

4. Nora is forced to make some tough decisions about leading Hank’s army into battle. Choose a famous military leader from history and study his or her battle plans and fighting tactics.

5. Fallen angels suffer excruciating pain when damage is done to their wing scars, and Nora feels that this is an unusually cruel way to control them. Look into the current debate about wartime torture, and write a short opinion paper about your attitude toward torture. How do your views compare to Nora’s?

Guide written by Cory Grimminck, Director of the Portland District Library in Michigan.

This guide has been provided by Simon & Schuster for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.