Between Two Kingdoms

Sets of three appear several times throughout Between Two Kingdoms. What do you believe that the repetition represents for Suleika? Give textual evidence to support your claim.

Between Two Kingdoms explores both isolation and intimacy. Analyze the challenges and benefits that these ideas pose for Suleika.

The book addresses the illness and death of young people with cancer. How does the author use imagery and symbols to embody the paradox of youth and cancer?

Analyze the role of writing within the book. How does journaling function as a coping mechanism and a method of self-revision? Choose one character and discuss how writing letters and/or reading letters functions in their character development.

How does Jaouad use the shift in verb tense from past in Part 1 to present in Part 2 to show development in Suleika’s character?

Identify two or three people who changed Suleika’s perspective during her treatment or on her road trip. How did they influence her? In what way(s) did their influence shift Suleika’s values?

What does it mean to be “well”? How did Suleika define health before and during her treatment? How did she define it afterward?

Analyze the title: Between Two Kingdoms. Choose one character and analyze how they inhabit an in-between. How does that situation affect them? What choices do they make in response to their situation?