Across A Hundred Mountains

Many characters experience the loss of loved ones throughout the novel. How do various characters experience and cope with grief?

Juana becomes a prostitute in order to talk to the coyotes about her father, and even tries to cross the border into the United States illegally. What lengths will characters go to get answers, and what do these choices represent about Juana’s character in particular?

How does religion come up throughout the novel? How do different characters practice Catholicism, and what does this reveal about their characterization?

Many people judge Amá negatively for her relationship with Don Elías, even though Don Elías forced himself on her. What does this tell you about the ways in which women are treated in this community? How are men and women treated differently throughout the novel?

Amá tells Juana that the plates brought her and Apá luck in their marriage. Later, Juana sees an owl and considers it a bad omen. How do characters in this novel view luck?

When Juana, as Adelina, first arrives in Los Angeles, a man tells her the moon “‘has two faces. She only shows one face to the world. Even though it changes shape constantly, it’s always the same face we see. But her second face, her second face remains hidden in darkness’” (24). What are Juana’s different, metaphorical faces? What does Juana show to the world and what does she keep hidden?

After graduating from college, Juana works in a shelter for homeless and battered women. Why did Juana choose this career path? What parts of her past may have led her to this career, and what does this reveal about her character?

Juana makes the decision not to tell José Alberto that he is her brother, because it might hurt him. Is it okay to keep a secret in order to protect someone else? Where else do characters lie or keep secrets in order to protect themselves or others?