LONE STAR


Falling in love was the easy part . . .

Chloe and her three best friends are weeks away from finishing high school and beginning their new grown-up lives apart from one another. They have been friends since they were kids, their families and lives intertwined, but this is their last summer together. They plan a magical trip to sun-drenched Barcelona, with its possibility of adventure and passion. But first, Chloe has an old family promise to keep, and the four of them must detour through historic Eastern Europe.

In this fledgling post-Communist world, Chloe meets a mysterious American vagabond named Johnny,

more …

Falling in love was the easy part . . .

Chloe and her three best friends are weeks away from finishing high school and beginning their new grown-up lives apart from one another. They have been friends since they were kids, their families and lives intertwined, but this is their last summer together. They plan a magical trip to sun-drenched Barcelona, with its possibility of adventure and passion. But first, Chloe has an old family promise to keep, and the four of them must detour through historic Eastern Europe.

In this fledgling post-Communist world, Chloe meets a mysterious American vagabond named Johnny, who carries a guitar, an easy smile, and a lifetime of secrets. From Treblinka to Trieste, from Carnikava to Krakow, the unlikely band of friends and mismatched lovers traverses the Old World on a train ride that becomes a treacherous journey into Europe’s and Johnny’s dark pasts—a journey that jeopardizes Chloe’s plans and all she ever thought she wanted.

The ties that bind Chloe to her friends and her future are about to be put to the ultimate test. Whether or not they reach Barcelona . . . their lives will never be the same again.

A sweeping, beautiful tale of old friendships and new love that mesmerizes and enchants, Lone Star will linger long in the memory even after the final page has been turned.

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  • William Morrow Paperbacks
  • Paperback
  • November 2015
  • 640 Pages
  • 9780062098153

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About Paullina Simons

Paullina Simons is an internationally bestselling author whose novels include Bellagrand and The Bronze Horseman was born in Leningrad in 1963. As a child she immigrated to Queens, New York, and attended colleges in Long Island. Then she moved to England and attended Essex University, before returning to America. She lives in New York with her husband and children.

Praise

Extraordinary.”

—Teresa Medeiros, New York Times bestselling author

Discussion Questions

What do you think the title Lone Star means?

What would it take to separate from someone who caused as much pain as Johnny had? Can you help someone who’s hell-bent on self-destruction? How?

What role does music play in the story?

Quote from book: Discuss. Do you agree or disagree?

a. “Everything is a love story.”

b. “One day is enough for us to know all happiness.”

c. “Is it better to be lost and not know you’re lost, or to be lost and desperately try to find your way out?”

d. “There is something to see every place you look.”

e. “What single thing gives your life meaning that death does not destroy?”

What country/city/place is your Barcelona? Discuss.

Have you ever had a traveling experience that went wrong? How? Discuss.

Should you wait? What if he doesn’t come back?

Should you not wait? What if he does?

And what’s worse?