Andrew Klavan - If We Survive

And you know, I might. It’s possible, anyway. I mean, that’s the whole thing about the future, isn’t it?

You just never know.

1. While in the jungle, Will remembers Ernest Hemingway’s definition of cowardice: “a lack of ability to suspend the functioning of the imagination.” What does this mean to Will? Have you ever needed to restrain your imagination to keep it from running wild?

2. Did Pastor Ron do the right thing by trying to reason with Mendoza and the rebels? Why or why not?

3. After being rescued from the firing squad, Will says, “It’s too bad you can’t always live as if it were the last moment of your life.” What does he mean by this? How does Will experience the world right before he thinks he’s going to die?

4. How do Nicki and Jim change throughout the story? What are the lessons they needed to learn?

5. Will acts heroically throughout this story, as do the other characters. In your opinion, which moments would have required the most courage and/or selflessness?

6. At first, Will finds Palmer Dunn to be arrogant and unlikeable; but by the end of the story, we know a very different side of Palmer. Have you ever met someone about whom your first impressions were completely wrong?

7. Will recalls Pastor Ron once saying, “Don’t worry about anything. Pray about everything instead.” How does this help Will along the way? How could this saying help you through trying times?

8. Meredith acts fearlessly on more than one occasion, and the people around her notice. Do you have to go through something tragic like she did in order to become a fearless person? Why or why not?

Andrew Klavan was hailed by Stephen King as “the most original novelist of crime and suspense since Cornell Woolrich.” He is the recipient of two Edgar Awards and the author of such bestsellers as True Crime and Don’t Say a Word .

“A thriller that reads like a teenage version of 24… an adrenalinepumping adventure.”

“Action sequences that never let up… wrung for every possible drop of nervous sweat.”

“…the adrenaline-charged action will keep you totally immersed. The original plot is full of twists and turns and unexpected treasures.”

“[Klavan] is a solid storyteller with a keen eye for detail and vivid descriptive power.”

“I’m buying everything Klavan is selling, from the excellent first person narrative, to the gut punching action; to the perfect doses of humor and wit… it’s all working for me.”

“Charlie teaches lessons in Christian decency and patriotism, not by talking about those things… but through practicing them… Well done, Andrew Klavan.”

“This is Young Adult fiction… but the unadulterated intelligence of a superb suspense novelist is very much in evidence throughout.”

Crazy Dangerous

The Last Thing I Remember

The Long Way Home

The Truth of the Matter

The Final Hour

© 2012 by Andrew Klavan

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Klavan, Andrew.

If we survive / Andrew Klavan.

p. cm.

Summary: When revolutionaries seize control of a country in Central America where sixteen-year-old Will is serving at a mission, he and the other volunteers find themselves in a desperate race to escape the violence and return home.

ISBN 978-1-59554-795-8 (hardcover)

[1. Revolutions—Fiction. 2. Survival—Fiction. 3. Missions—Fiction. 4. Christian life—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.K67823If 2012

[Fic]—dc232012020035

Printed in the United States of America

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