1. What is the significance of the title?

2. How did the novel bring to life the mid-1920s?  What did you learn about everyday life during this time?  How is it different than life now?  How is it the same?

3. How did knowing the novel is based around true events impact your reading?

4. When considering women’s historical (and ongoing) pursuit for equality, how did the time period figure into Savi’s perseverance?

5. Compare and contrast Savi’s relationship with men—Michael, Tad, Higgins and Sol, as well as her father.

6. If each character represented an idea or a virtue, what would they represent to you?

7. What does Savi’s disdain of Trudy Ederle represent?  What do you think Trudy Ederle represents in a broader thematic scope?

8. How is the act of swimming—particularly the Catalina channel swim—metaphorical?