Analyze the various settings in the novel. How does it characterize Highwater in contrast to Monterey Bay or Elkhorn Slough? How do Odder’s feelings about each of her environments change over time? Connect your analysis to one of the novel’s themes.

Discuss Applegate’s decision to open the novel from the shark’s perspective. How does the author characterize him—what are his motivations? How do the poems from his perspective impact how readers perceive the shark attack and the shark’s culpability in it?

Analyze the novel’s structure. How has the author chosen to arrange the poems and flow of events? What bearing does this have on how readers understand Odder’s emotional landscape and the real-life ecological context of the story?