Margot has a unique way of seeing the world through numbers. What did you think of how she viewed and interpreted everything around her? How she interacted with people? Do you have a way of seeing the world through a unique lens that differs from those closest to you?
Drake always knows the right questions to ask. Were there any that struck you as being insightful? Odd? Do you ever have a hard time asking the right questions either to open conversation or lead you to the answers you seek?
Margot had dreams and goals that went against cultural norms and were sure to create challenges for her in the future. What did you think of her aspirations and her hesitations toward love and romance? Were her concerns justified? What did you think of Drake’s response?
What did you think of our “ghost” characters, Das Gespenst and Yūrei? Though Das Gespenst was the villain, did you understand him and his decisions? Did you anticipate the twist about Jaeger?
One of Margot’s greatest struggles in the book is what to do when God goes silent. Have you ever been in a place of grief or pain when you couldn’t sense the Lord? What did you do and how did you move beyond that?
Margot and Drake have a unique bond in that God asked her to pray for him anonymously. Have you ever been asked to pray for either a stranger or someone you don’t know well? Did you discover why at a later time?
Before reading this book, were you aware of the goings-on of Room 40 during World War I? What do you think of the world of cryptography, the decisions they had to make, and the secrecy that was so important to them? Would you have flourished or floundered there?
Many of the secondary characters—Abuelo, Dot, Camden, Red—have “issues.” Did you find these compelling or off-putting? Did any one of these characters interest you more than another? Of all characters, main and secondary, who was your favorite and why? Your least favorite?
There are two ways to think about the question of “Why did this happen?” when tragedy enters our lives: “Why did God let it happen?” versus “What will God do with it?” What did you think of Margot’s epiphany about these two interpretations? Have you ever struggled with shifting your focus between the two?
Looking ahead, what do you expect to see and what do you want to see in the next book, which features Phillip Camden? Historically, we know that the war ends a year after The Number of Love. What do you think life will look like then for Margot and Drake and their friends and family?