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The Color of Light
Karen White

Introduction

At thirty-two, pregnant and recently divorced, Jillian Parrish and her seven-year-old daughter find refuge and solace on Pawleys Island, South Carolina. Jillian had experienced her best childhood memories here—until her best friend Lauren Mills disappeared, never to be found. At the time, Linc Rising, Lauren's boyfriend and Jillian's confidant, had been a suspect in Lauren's disappearance. Now he's back on Pawleys Island—renovating the old Mills house. And as ghosts of the past are resurrected, and Jillian's daughter begins having eerie conversations with an imaginary friend named Lauren, Jillian and Linc will uncover the truth about Lauren's disappearance and about the feelings they have buried for sixteen years.

About the Author

Karen White is the author of four previous books. She lives with her family near Atlanta, Georgia.

Discussion Questions

  • In what ways are the constellations important to Jillian? Why do they hold such a fascination for her?

  • What role does forgiveness play in the novel? For whom is it important and in what different ways is it asked for and given?

  • Discuss the different ways motherhood is represented in the novel. Are they positive or negative? Why?

  • Why does Linc disguise his identity from the community? Is this effective

  • How is Jillian’s failed marriage related to her difficult childhood

  • How is Jillian’s relationship with Linc different from her relationship with Rick? How is it similar?

  • On page 303, Linc thinks to himself that he and Jillian “had always seen the core of things that existed under all the surface flaws.” Why does he think this, and how do he and Jillian demonstrate this in their lives?

  • How do the townspeople feel about Linc returning to Pawley’s Island?

  • Why is Janie’s plastic flower garden important to her?

  • How does the epigraph by Alfred Lord Tennyson relate to the story to come?

  • Why is Jillian afraid of the dark? How does she finally overcome that fear?

  • When does Jillian realize that it was she who drove Rick away? What brings her to this realization and how does it change her?