How is this most strongly demonstrated? What could account for this quality in her? 2. What are some of the sensory clues provided by the author that this story takes place in the Deep South? 3. Making Waves is set in a tiny town in Alabama. Can you imagine the events and characters taking place or existing anywhere else in the United States? 4. At no time in the story does the author indicate what is happening in the world outside Zion County. What is the significance of this? 5. What role does the beauty parlor play in the town’s affairs? 6. The author makes the affection between Tim and Taylor appear to border on homosexuality—or does she? What does Tim and Taylor’s youthful relationship say about the expression of friendship between men in this country? 7. What other novels have used the device of having different characters tell the story through their own voices? Is this a peculiar feature of southern writing, and if so, why is it so? 8. Does the transformation of Ellis from a drab mouse to a glamour-puss, and her rejections of religious teachings, seem plausible?
