Leaving Earth
Reading Group Guide

Discussion Questions 

1.The narrative point of view shifts between characters, letting us see the pilots and the events on the ground from many perspectives. How are some of the same events seen differently by the characters?

2. From the air, the pilots have a broad view of events, but they can't observe individual experiences. How does this change their connection to events on the earth?

3. The novel is set in the depths of the Depression, at a time when flying was a new and glamorous skill. Do you think the extreme economic conditions make Air Ace Grace more popular? How is flying a means of escape, for both spectators and pilots?

4. The rise of violent anti-Semitism in Europe and at home becomes personal for Maddy's family when Del is beaten and Simon is caught up in a riot. How does the family deal with these Nazi sympathizers? Does society condemn or condone the hate groups?

5. Willa is a young and inexperienced flyer, plucked from her obscurity to help Grace achieve her endurance record. How does Willa grow and change in her time spent in the air? What kind of love does she feel for Grace? How do Willa's actions in the crash differ from Del's vision? What do you think happened?

6. Maddy is obsessed with Air Ace Grace. Do you think hero worship is natural in children? The love she feels finds a focus when she tries to escape the pain of Del's attack by claiming that Grace is her real mother. How does Maddy's interaction with the pilots after the crash open her eyes?

7. Despite Grace O'Gorman's central importance to the book, she remains mysterious. None of the other characters know her well, though as she knows many of them love her. In the end, she gets the last word. What kind of a person is she? Why do you think she is driven to fly?

8. Grace and Jack's marriage is under strain. She is dependent on him to help her break his record, and the relationship of their two planes is sexualized in the text. Do you think Jack is consciously trying to sabotage Grace's flight? Why does Grace decide to forgive him in the end?

9. Only Grace can use the "clipped" sign language she invents during the flight, what Willa calls "all function and shapes in the air." Willa, from her position in the back of the plane, traces letters on Grace's back to communicate, an intimate connection that also allows her the luxury of sentences, "the niceties of language." How do these different languages reflect the characters of the two women? How does silent language shape their relationship?

10. Jack's only mode of communication with his wife during the flight is through the newspaper articles in which he fabricates adventures for the pilots. What about the articles does Grace hate so much? How does she use the publicity her flights generate to shape her public image? Do you think Jack is trying to change that image?

11. What challenges do these female pilots face in pursuing their passion? Are you surprised that they are often referred to as "girl pilots"? How do the men in their lives affect their decision to fly? And what do you think will happen to Maddy's fascination with the sky?

12. What do you think Grace wants to tell Willa in the last line of the book?