Chapter 21 by Chris
Characters:Ray
Ruth
Mr. Harvey
Abigail
Jack
Len
Places:The Hospital
The Sinkhole
Susie’s old neighborhood
Memorable Quotes:1. “Nothing is ever certain” – Len page 291
2. It was a cruel phrase that preyed on hope – Susie page 291
3. Everything is changing her now. – Ruth page 294
Summary:Susie visits her one and only crush Ray. She recalls the moments when she was living how much she liked him and her grandma Lyn told her to go for it and have fun. She remembers that glorious day when by her locker, Ray came up to her and finally kissed her.
Ruth and Ray set out to travel to the sinkhole together. Apparently the earth has throats and this is how the sinkholes come to be. The hole is being filled by concrete to seal it up from no longer sucking things down into the earth, only for them to resurface years later.
Len finally decides to visit Jack in the hospital and return the charm. He feels guilt over the fact that Abigail is back in town tending to her sick husband. Len returns the charm to Susie’s parents, and Jack automatically thinks that they have found Mr. Harvey or at least found Susie, but sadly no. Abigail questions Len about the other murders and how accurate it is that Mr. Harvey is the culprit. Len gives his automatic speech, that nothing is ever certain. Abigail remembers that exact statement from him years ago, and is taken back by the false hope behind it…she asks him to leave.
Susie finds Mr. Harvey back in their town, and heading for their old neighborhood. He is remembering that Lindsey Salmon is the girl that has ruined his life. Who knows what would have happened if the mother that currently resides in his former residences hadn’t called the police when she saw Mr. Harvey in his beat up vehicle.
Ray and Ruth had made it to the sinkhole, the exact same one that Mr. Harvey dumped the trunk with Susie’s body parts in it. Ruth is alone at the base of the hole and feels Susie’s presence and she asks Susie what she really wants? Later on, they had back to the car and Ray spots his mother’s favorite wild flower growing, he wonders off to pick some for her. Leaving Ruth alone by the car, she is suddenly a bystander to Mr. Harvey driving by. For awhile now Mr. Harvey has been recalling his past murders, and slowly these women have been appearing near him, so as he drove by Ruth she is assaulted by something and passes out.
What happens next is something only fate would allow, something Susie never thought possible. Susie fell from her normal hovering spot and sprang right for earth…
Questions:
1. Do you believe that Susie really love Ray, or is it because that was her only chance to experience romance, something she has dreamed about?
2. Is Abigail’s resentment to Len, justified? Do you think he intentionally put false hopes in their heads?
3. Do you think Mr. Harvey has become irrational, is he obsessed with the fact that one girl brought down his comfortable life? If he wasn’t caught do you believe he would of harmed Lindsey…in an act of revenge or his sick addiction? Chapter 22 by chris
Characters:Ruth
Ray
Susie
Places:Hal's Bike Shop
Memorable Quotes:1. "She was a smart girl breaking all the rules." - Susie page 301
2. "AWOL a little while from heaven, I had been given a gift." - Susie page 302
3. "When you kiss me I see heaven" - Susie page 304
4. "Susie, you know I'm not like that" - Ray page 306
Summary:Susie fell to earth. She has awoken feeling and seeing things, real feelings like being alive again. Ruth had done some imaginable, Susie was given some unattainable...she returned to earth in Ruth's body and Ruth went to her heaven. Susie hears Ray calling after her, actually trying to call Ruth. Immediately Ray senses the difference in his friend, but maybe it's because she just fainted. Susie is still reeling from the feelings and senses, these things she has not felt in many years, overwhelmed by them and the gift before her...she asks Ray to kiss her. Ray complies, not really knowing why but that he wants too. Susie is getting everything she has wanted, the thing that she wanted most when she was still alive and in her death. Ray asks her where she wants to go, and that is such an open question for a dead person. Susie thinks automatically that she doesn't want to chase after her murderer and waste her precious time...no, she would rather live and experience somethings she missed out on. She asks Ray to take her to Hal's bike shop, which is just a few miles away.
Ray is elated by an unknown reason, he wants to kiss Susie over and over. He questions her about how it feels to kiss him, Susie truthfully answers that she sees heaven. Ray not knowing how honest that statement is, he wants all the details of the mysterious place. Susie see's another opportunity for her to grab, she offers her descriptions to Ray, if he will make love to her...something she thought would never happen. Ray and Ruth (Susie) make it to the bike shop, Susie wants to take a hot shower and bask in the warmth of it. She invites Ray to join her, he is a perfect gentlemen and deny's her. Susie has always been persistent and asks him again, Ray comes into the bathroom and can see her showering. In the heat of the moment, Ray listening to his instincts calls her by her real name, Susie. She is startled by this, but honestly her true essence is coming off of her and Ray being so tied to her through his life, couldn't mistake it. He gives in, and the two share beautiful moments together and Susie finally experiences what love is supposed to feel like and the tragic last moments of her life begin to wash away with the water...
After their moment, Susie implores Ray to read Ruth's journal's, implying that some of his questions could be answered. Susie is on cloud nine, she is living her dream and getting what many people in heaven desire most. She tries to call home one last time, to make one last connection to her family, and Buckley answers but it's already too late, she is fading. Susie left earth again for the second time in her life, she recalls that leaving this time is much easier this time around...
Questions for considerations:
1. Was Susie's dream for love and being alive again responsible for bringing her back for awhile, or was it the persistence and sacrifice of Ruth, wanting to always trade places with Susie that lead her to change places with Susie?
2. If given the chance that Susie had, what would you have chosen to do in your second chance? Do you believe she did the right thing, by giving up on the pursuit of Mr. Harvey and just 'living'?
3. Do you think that this is the 'unfinished business' people talk about when our loved ones still dwell behind until they can move on and be at peace? Did Susie needs this experience for that to happen? 
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