Once Upon a Broken Heart

What does Donatella surviving Jacks’s kiss suggest about true love? Do you think Donatella was Jacks’s true love at some point? Do you think Evangeline is Jacks’s true love? Do you think people can have more than one true love? Why or why not? If so, are all true loves created equal?

Knowing the lengths Marisol goes through to get what she wants, do you think she spelled Evangeline at any points during the book? Why or why not? If so, what spells might she have used and when? If not, why do you think Marisol chose to spell others but not Evangeline, the one she’s most jealous of? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

One of the major themes of Once Upon a Broken Heart is that endings are just moments in a greater story. With this idea in mind, choose three moments in Once Upon a Broken Heart and pick a different way the story could have gone in that moment. What impact do those changes have on the book? How might it have ended if the story went the way you chose? For this exercise, treat each moment individually, meaning analyze how each change has an impact by itself and not in conjunction with the other changes you select.

Garber weaves elements of the Cinderella story throughout Once Upon a Broken Heart. Do you see elements of other fairy tales? If so, which ones, and how does Garber use them? If not, why do you think Garber chose not to use other fairy tale stories as inspiration? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

A few theories are given for what’s locked in the Valory Arch. Do you think the arch contains magical knowledge or dangers as theorized? Why or why not? If so, which and why? If not, what do you think it contains? Speculate why Jacks wants access to what you believe is locked behind the arch.

Why do you think the North’s history is cursed? Do you think it has anything to do with the former royals and the Valory Arch? What might the arch be holding that influenced the North’s past, and how might the curse be broken?

For the first two kisses, Jacks’s blood tastes sweet, but for the third, it is bitter. Why do you think his blood tastes different for the third kiss? Is it a change of his magic or more manipulation? Something else? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Compare and contrast the natures of LaLa and Jacks. How does each of their relationships with love and hope shape who they are? Why do you think Jacks is so sinical and cruel while LaLa turned out to be bright and kind? How might their backstories influence who they are?