1. What kind of person is Aunt Maria? What methods does she use to get her way?

2. Chris is rude and sarcastic to adults. What explains this? What does he think of the members of his family?

3. Mig and Chris nickname Aunt Maria's friends "the Mrs. Urs." Why are their real names unimportant?

What has happened to the minds of the residents in Cranbury-on-Sea?

4. How does Mig describe the landscape in Cranbury-on-Sea? Does this description suit the mood in town?

5. Mig's mother tells her that Aunt Maria "uses people's guilt about their savage feelings" (Chapter 3). Mig thinks her mother is at a disadvantage because she is "too civilized" (Chapter 5). What do these remarks mean?

6. What influence does Nathaniel Phelps have on Chris? What trouble does this cause for Mig?

7. Mig's father tells her that "none of the traditional facts seemed to mean anything" to her...