The Hawthorne Legacy

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Avery’s Choose-Your-Own Narrative”

In this activity, students will demonstrate their understanding of the important clues and red herrings in The Hawthorne Legacy by creating an interactive text adventure based on the novel.

If there is one thing the Hawthornes love, it is a puzzle. In this activity, work with a small group to create your own kind of puzzle—a text-based mystery in which the reader makes choices that guide the narrative to demonstrate how well they understand the events of Avery’s story.

Gather Clues and Red Herrings: Review The Hawthorne Legacy and note 5 legitimate clues and 5 red herrings (false clues). Take notes for yourself on how each legitimate clue contributes to solving the book’s central mystery: why Toby has disappeared.

Create a Text Adventure:

• Go to Twine and choose “Use in your browser.” (If you do not have internet access or if Twine is unavailable for some reason, complete this activity by creating a hard-copy version, writing each passage on a separate page and using 3 “turn to page x” prompts instead of electronic links.)
• In the toolbar menu, choose “+ New” to begin writing your story. (For help in using Twine, choose “? Help” in the top-level menu.)
• Each passage you create should begin with a few sentences of narrative that place the reader in Avery’s shoes and introduce either a legitimate clue or a red herring. For instance: “You are at a fundraiser held in honor of Emily Laughlin. On the table in front of you is a binder with pictures of vacation properties.”
• Each passage you create (except for the final passage) should end with links to 3 new passages. Two links will be misdirection and 1 will lead to a passage that progresses the story. For instance:

○ “You ignore the binder, because it contains no useful information.”

○ “You glance through the binder and realize that the property called ‘True North’ is important.”

○ “You glance through the binder and see that there is a message written on the back of one picture.”

• The incorrect choices should lead your reader to passages that tell them to go back and choose again.
• Make sure to always include an “ignore” option in your links, because this will be the correct option when your passage introduces a red herring.
• Your text adventure should follow the same chronological order as the novel.
• Your text adventure should use all 5 legitimate clues and all 5 red herrings.
• The final passage in your story should congratulate your reader for solving the mystery and explain how each legitimate clue contributes to the mystery’s solution.

Play Through Another Team’s Adventure: When everyone has finished, swap workstations with another team and play through their text adventure. Offer feedback on whether their project meets all of the criteria listed above.

Teaching Suggestion: Completing this activity as written requires access to the internet; although it is possible to use Twine on a mobile phone, the interface is much easier to use on a device with a larger screen. Students do not need to create an account or download this free tool—it can be used entirely in a browser. When they are ready to share their work for assessment, they can create an HTML file by “publishing” their work and email this file. It is not possible to use multiple computers to simultaneously edit a Twine story, so all group members will need to work on one device together. If students do not have internet access or if Twine is unavailable, they can complete this activity by creating a hard-copy version, writing each passage on a separate page and then using 3 “Turn to page _______ if…” prompts instead of electronic links.

Differentiation Suggestion: Creating an interactive story requires careful organization. Students with executive function or attentional learning differences will benefit from working in mixed-ability groups; they also may find the use of a graphic organizer helpful for collecting clues. As Twine’s interface is spatially organized, students with visual impairments or learning differences will also benefit from working in mixed-ability groups.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. In Chapter 2, Alisa tells Avery, “This is a Cinderella story, not a scandal—and that means that you need to play Cinderella.”

• What is ironic about the juxtaposition between this statement and the reality of Avery’s life? (topic sentence)
• Cite 3 examples that support your interpretation of this irony. Analyze and discuss each example in connection with your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how this juxtaposition supports one or more of the novel’s key thematic interests: Coming of Age: Becoming a Player in Your Own Game, Romantic Relationships, or Class Disparities and Classism.

2. Many characters in the novel struggle with guilt related to their family’s activities. Choose two of these characters to use as the basis for your response.

• What is similar and what is different about the guilt these two characters feel? (topic sentence)
• Identify at least 3 total examples that support your comparison of these characters’ guilt. Analyze and discuss each example in connection with your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize the message about guilt the author conveys in the novel; evaluate the extent to which this message is effectively conveyed by the characters you chose.

3. The Hawthorne Legacy is both a mystery and a thriller, two genres that use tension and suspense to keep the reader engaged.

• What is one technique Barnes uses to create tension and suspense? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 examples of this technique and explain how Barnes uses each to create either tension or suspense.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, evaluate with rationale how well the novel uses tension and suspense to keep the reader engaged.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. Many characters in The Hawthorne Legacy make difficult discoveries about a parent or parents. What does this motif suggest about parent-child relationships? What does it suggest about families, in general? How do these discoveries impact the characters and their sense of identity? Write an essay analyzing the significance of this motif in the novel. Comment on its connection to the novel’s thematic interest in Coming of Age: Becoming a Player in Your Own Game. Support your analysis with evidence drawn from throughout the text, making sure to cite any quoted material.

2. Romantic Relationships are an important theme in The Hawthorne Legacy. Common in coming-of-age stories, these relationships contribute to a character’s process of maturing. Gauge whether all of the romantic relationships between young people in The Hawthorne Legacy are positive and healthy. If you were to rank them, which of these relationships would you call the healthiest? Which would be the least healthy? What varying impacts of characters’ growth and development do you see in the healthy and unhealthy relationships? Write an essay comparing 2 romantic relationships between teens in this novel. Comment on how these relationships relate to the novel’s thematic interest in Coming of Age: Becoming a Player in Your Own Game. Support your analysis with evidence drawn from throughout the text, making sure to cite any quoted material.

3. The setting of Hawthorne House functions as a kind of “gilded cage” for Avery. How do the terms of Tobias’s will contribute to this feeling? What might his motivation have been for setting this condition on Avery’s inheritance? How does Barnes use language, characterization, description, and plot detail to reinforce the idea that the house is like a beautiful prison? Write an essay analyzing the impact of the setting of Hawthorne House on Avery. Comment on how this setting relates to the novel’s thematic interest in Class Disparities and Classism. Support your analysis with evidence drawn from throughout the text, making sure to cite any quoted material.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following events is an important red herring (false clue) that misdirects the reader?

A) Max’s discovery of the tabloid article about Avery’s mother

B) Avery’s discovery of the numbers on the wedding rings

C) Avery’s discovery of Toby’s unique handwriting style

D) The vial of powder Nash gives Zara in Costa Rica

2. Which of the following motifs is present in The Hawthorne Legacy?

A) Drownings

B) Secret contracts

C) Love triangles

D) Twins

3. From what point of view is the book narrated?

A) First person

B) Second person

C) Third-person limited

D) Third-person omniscient

4. Which of the novel’s thematic motifs is most clearly supported by Grayson’s use of Latin to communicate with his brothers, Alisa’s reference to Cinderella, and the media’s blaming of Kaylie for the fire on Hawthorne Island?

A) The meaning of family

B) The complexity of romantic relationships

C) The long reach of past events

D) The significance of social class

5. Which character does not make a significant discovery about a parent’s identity?

A) Toby

B) Max

C) Nash

D) Avery

6. What is foreshadowed by Rebecca’s mother’s breakdown at the fundraiser and her claim that the Hawthornes “take everything”?

A) The Laughlins giving away their grandchild for adoption

B) The revelation that Toby started the fire on Hawthorne Island

C) The discovery that Tobias bought off Jake with a job in Costa Rica

D) Tobias leaving all of his money to someone outside the family.

7. In Chapter 69, what revelation does the clue “I will never stop being sorry about your sister” in Toby’s letter to Hannah point toward?

A) Toby was secretly having an affair with Kaylie.

B) Tobias paid off the authorities to cover up Toby’s crime.

C) Avery’s mother was Kaylie’s sister.

D) Hannah was the only one who knew about Toby’s crime.

8. Which of the following motifs is present in The Hawthorne Legacy?

A) Unusual weapons

B) Hidden messages

C) Disguises

D) Spying

9. What do Avery’s grandmother and Grayson’s father have in common?

A) They are both mainly interested in their relatives as a source of money.

B) Once they are finally located, both immediately disappear again.

C) They are both hiding secrets about the fire on Hawthorne Island.

D) Once their identities are revealed, they refuse to form a family connection.

10. Which most accurately expresses one of the novel’s messages about extreme wealth?

A) Extreme wealth is best used to create opportunity in the lives of others.

B) Acquiring and keeping extreme wealth requires making unethical choices.

C) Protecting extreme wealth is often used as an excuse for unreasonable paranoia.

D) Possessing extreme wealth is quickly and inevitably corrupting to the soul.

11. Which character does not appear in person until the novel’s final chapters?

A) Ricky

B) Tobias

C) Skye

D) Toby

12. Which most accurately expresses one of the novel’s messages about family?

A) Most friendships are more meaningful than most family relationships.

B) Without taking a DNA test, we cannot really know for sure who our family is.

C) Chosen family sometimes offers more support than biological family.

D) Whether we like it or not, we are stuck with our family members for life.

13. What is the main obstacle to Avery and Jameson’s romance for most of the novel?

A) Avery’s concern that Jameson sees her as an object rather than as a person

B) Jameson’s continued romantic feelings for Emily Laughlin

C) Avery’s continued romantic feelings for Grayson Hawthorne

D) Jameson’s anger over his grandfather’s choice to leave the money to Avery

14. Which motif is most clearly supported by Toby’s disappearance, Toby’s decisions about Eve, and Avery’s urging Max to leave?

A) The dangers of believing uncritically in family ties

B) The poisonous atmosphere of Hawthorne House

C) The temptation to use others as pawns in one’s own games

D) The painful process of growing up and becoming independent

15. Which of the following is most clearly related to Avery’s journey toward taking control of her role in the Hawthorne family’s “games”?

A) Avery’s dream vision after the airplane explosion

B) Avery’s repeated run-ins with the press

C) The name of the Costa Rican property “True North”

D) The repeated references to the glass ballerina

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. What is ironic about the symbolism of the compass?

2. How does Avery’s legal emancipation “bookend” one of the novel’s important themes?