FLIPPED

READ THE BOOK/SEE THE MOVIE DISCUSSION GUIDE

ABOUT THE BOOK

Flipped is a romance told in two voices.
The first time Juli Baker saw Bryce
Loski, she flipped. The first time Bryce saw
Juli, he ran. That’s pretty much the pattern
for these two neighbors until the eighth
Motion Picture Artwork: © 2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

Includes grade, when, just as Juli is realizing Bryce

full-color
movie stills and isn’t as wonderful as she thought, Bryce
an interview is starting to see that Juli is pretty
with the
author! amazing. How these two teens manage
to see beyond the surface of things and
come together makes for a comic and
poignant romance.

ABOUT THE MOVIE

Wendelin Van Draanen’s highly acclaimed he
said/she said teen romance is now a major
motion picture. Directed by Rob Reiner
(Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally), from
a script he wrote with Andrew Scheinman,
the film features Madeline Carroll and Callan
McAuliffe as Juli and Bryce, along with
Rebecca De Mornay, Anthony Edwards, John
Movie tie-in PB: 978-0-375-86347-9 Mahoney, Penelope Ann Miller, Aidan Quinn
PB: 978-0-375-82544-6
and Kevin Weisman.
HC: 978-0-375-81174-6

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wendelin Van Draanen worked as a high
Photo courtesy of the author.

school teacher for many years before

turning to writing full time. She is the
author of the highly acclaimed Sammy
Keyes mysteries, Runaway, Swear to Howdy,
and Confessions of a Serial Kisser. She
lives in Central California with her family.

IN THEATERS AUGUST flipped-movie.warnerbros.com

 FLIPPED DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

ON FLIPPED, THE BOOK . . . ON FLIPPED, THE MOVIE . . .

• Contrast Bryce and Juli’s families. Which family appears to • What is the theme of the novel and film? How does the
have the stronger sense of values? How is Juli’s relationship opening scene of the film set the stage for the theme
with her father different from Bryce’s relationship with his development? How are the many meanings of “flipped”
father? Discuss how Bryce’s father helped shape his view of revealed in the film?
Juli the first day they met.
• Take a look at your notes about the setting of the novel.
• Explain the following metaphor: “The world is her play- What did you say about the time period? Why do you
ground, and watch out below—Juli’s on the slide.” (p. 4) think the filmmakers changed the time period? Discuss
What does this say about Juli’s character? How does Juli the things in the novel that were changed in the movie to
have a stronger sense of purpose than her peers? reflect the era in which it is set.
• Discuss Bryce’s relationship with his grandfather. How • Often characters in a novel seem very different when
does his grandfather see something in Juli that Bryce is portrayed in a movie. Which characters in the novel Flipped
unable to see? What does Juli teach Bryce about his grand- are changed in the movie? Debate whether these changes
father? correlate with the era in which the movie is set.
• Explain what Juli’s father means when he tells her, “A paint- • How does the movie deal with the alternating points of
ing is more than the sum of its parts . . . put them all to- view? Note whether the scenes change as the narrator
gether and you’ve got magic.” (p. 34) How does Juli finally changes.
understand the magic from the top of the sycamore tree?
• What was your mental picture of Juli Baker’s house in the
Discuss Juli’s loneliness and her desire to share the magic
novel? How does her house in the movie compare to that?
with someone. Debate whether Bryce is too much of a con-
formist to join Juli’s cause to save the sycamore tree. • Discuss the scene where Juli goes with her father to visit
Daniel. How does the visual image of this scene make it
• The day that Juli tried to save the tree is the day that her
more real and poignant than reading about it? Discuss how
view of things around her started changing. What are
meeting Daniel changes Juli.
some of the things that she began to see differently? At
what point does Bryce begin to change? Which character • The film is largely faithful to the novel, but there are some
has the longest journey? Which faces the most obstacles? changes. What are some of the significant changes, other
than the setting?

AFTER READING THE BOOK AND BEFORE • Debate whether plot or character is the most important
element in Flipped. How does the movie advance this
SEEING THE MOVIE . . . element? Discuss the symbolism of the sycamore tree.
• The novel is told in alternating voices. Debate whether this How does it give meaning to the novel in a direct and
allows the reader to be objective about the conflict of the indirect way?
story. Discuss which character garners the most sympathy
• Think about the scene where the Bakers have dinner
from the reader. Select a scene from the novel that clearly
with Bryce’s family. Which family seems the most uncom-
reveals Bryce and Juli’s opposing views. Rewrite the scene
fortable? Who changes the most during the course of the
in a third person omniscient point of view. How does this
evening? Debate whether the two families are simply too
voice change the way the reader sees the scene?
different to be more than just neighborly to one another.
• Some critics believe that setting is an important element in
• Juli’s father helps her see that all of the parts together form
fiction because it gives a novel purpose. Think about how
“magic,” and Bryce ultimately begins to see it. What does
setting is usually revealed in a work of fiction. Where and
the movie reveal about this type of magic to its viewers?
when do you think Flipped is set? Support your answer
with clues from the novel. Keep the setting in mind as you
view the movie.
• Be a casting director. Choose from children and adults
in your school or neighborhood, cast the following roles:
Bryce, Juli, Mr. and Mrs. Baker, Mr. and Mrs. Loski, Bryce’s
grandfather, Bryce’s sister, and Juli’s brothers. www.randomhouse.com/teachers

Prepared by Pat Scales, Children’s Literature Consultant, Greenville, South Carolina.

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