What message do you think Linda Sue Park wants to convey through this book? How does she express this/these message(s)?

Park explores racism in this story not through a Black/white lens but through an Asian/white and Black/white lens. What lessons can be drawn from this perspective? Discuss.

Julia compares her relationship to Project Mulberry with the silkworm life cycle. What are the similarities between the two, and what else does the silkworm life cycle symbolize or suggest in the novel?