The Wednesday Wars Discussion Questions

Here's a few discussion questions that I rounded up for this book. If you're not able to attend Book Club tonight, feel free to leave a comment below or even send me an email if you have lots of comments or a book review that you'd like to post!

Why is the book called The Wednesday Wars?

How do the plays Holling reads with Mrs. Baker mirror events in the book?

If The Wednesday Wars were a Shakespearean play, would it be labeled a comedy, a history, or a tragedy? Why?

What are your first impressions of the following characters: Holling Hoodhood, Mrs. Baker, Mr. Hoodhood and Mr. Guareschi?

After reading The Tempest, Mrs. Baker tells Holling that defeats help us grow. What defeats does Holling suffer in the seventh grade, and how do they help him mature?

Why did Holling refer to his home as the “perfect house,” and how does this relate to Holling’s father? Give details from the book that support the idea that all was not perfect.

How does Holling’s rescue of his sister begin to change their feelings toward each other? By the end of the book, how do they feel about each other? Discuss the events between the two that created their closeness.

What was Holling’s relationship with his father? Discuss specific events from the book that show his father’s priorities. How did others in the book fill the role that his father should have had?

At the end of the story, Danny has his bar mitzvah and becomes a man. Although Holling did not have a religious ceremony, he became a man by the end of the book. Discuss the events throughout the book that support the idea that he had grown up.

“When gods die, they die hard” (p. 93). How does Holling experience the metaphorical deaths of many gods in The Wednesday Wars? What new gods replace those who have “died”?

Why do you think the author never tells the reader the name of Doug Swieteck’s older brother? Why do you think Holling refers to Doug Swieteck’s older brother and his friends as the Penitentiary crowd?

Why is Danny Hupfer protective of Mai Thi? What do Danny and Mai Thi have in common?

Question Sources:
The California Young Reader Medal Resource Book
The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award 
The Grand Canyon Reader Award
Scholastic