This Is Our Story

This Is Our Story uses a “mixed media” technique, incorporating video transcripts and text messages as integral parts of the plot. Why might the author choose to convey information through such formats, instead of simply providing details via Kate’s and John Michael’s narrations? What does this modern-day epistolary technique add?  

One of the book’s first significant plot twists is the Grant-Shep identity mix-up. If Kate’s love interest is alive instead of deceased, how does this heighten the narrative tension? Address both the internal and external conflicts Kate must face as a result.

The author of This is Our Story previously worked as a professional photographer, a background that becomes apparent in the book’s detailed focus on visual imagery. Map the significance of the visual images throughout the book, choosing concrete examples of photos and the role they play in enhancing the plot (e.g. driving it forward, adding depth, bringing new complexity).

The book overtly critiques the idea of the “good ol’ boys” club. Choose instances in the book in which this concept is at play, and explain how the book deconstructs it.

As Mr. Stone’s “eyes,” Kate watches many video interviews between the police and individuals who knew the River Point Boys. These testimonies are from largely insignificant characters, some of whom don't even make an appearance in the narrative. Why would the author include them? How do they add depth and complexity to the mystery? Use specific examples.

This is a contemporary young adult novel. Photography is not the only technology at play. There is also social media (as in when Kate stalks Shep on Facebook) and text messages. Explore the significance of these various technologies in the narrative, in particular the text messages preceding each chapter.

John Michael and Shep both refer to the River Point Boys as “brothers.” In an ironic twist, John Michael betrays the brotherhood to protect his actual blood relations. Explore the treatment of “brotherhood” throughout the narrative, focusing on the shifting relationships of the River Point Boys.

Why would the author include the subplot/secondary mystery regarding the lewd photo Grant took of the St. Bart’s girls? Consider the book’s thematic treatment of the criminal justice system and this quote from Lori: “Hardly anyone tried to figure out who did this to us—most just talked about us…If Henry did it, then he was the only one with the guts to actually do something about it” (285).