Thief of Always Ch 1-17

Thief of Always Ch 1-17

Problems

We know The Thief of Always is a book with a "mountain range" of problems. Think back to the very beginning of the book...

Multiple Choice

What was the original problem Harvey faced?

• His teacher picked on him at school.

• His parents gave him too many chores at home.

• He was bored.

• He didn't have any friends.

Multiple Choice

What appeared to be the solution to that problem?

• Harvey would skip school.

• Harvey could ignore his mother and leave his room a mess.

• Harvey could follow Rictus to the Holiday House.

• Rictus could become Harvey's new friend.

More Problems...

The longer Harvey is at the Holiday House, the more we start to get the feeling that it's not all fun and games. Think about some of the signs that made you think there might be some kind of dark magic involved...

Poll

What was the BIGGEST sign to you that something creepy was going on at the Holiday House?

• The fish in the pond looking like "prisoners"

• Harvey's first Halloween when Wendell scared him with the pumpkin head hanging

• Marr turning Harvey into a vampire and encouraging him to attack Wendell

• Lulu wandering around like a zombie

New Problem

We could have predicted it wouldn't be easy for Harvey and Wendell to escape the Holiday House. The mist wall was very clever in returning them to the House over and over again.

Multiple Choice

How did Harvey and Wendell solve the problem of escaping the Holiday House?

• Mrs. Griffin let them follow Blue Cat through the mist to the other side.

• Harvey and Wendell held hands and pulled each other through.

• Carna chased them, clearing the mist for them to see.

More Problems...

It might have seemed logical that once Harvey escaped the Holiday House, all his problems would go away. However, that wasn't true...

Multiple Choice

What new problem did Harvey face once he escaped the Holiday House and made it home to his parents?

• His parents had moved.

• Rictus put a spell on his parents so they didn't recognize him.

• Harvey lost 31 years of his life while he was at the Holiday House.

• Wendell tried to follow Harvey home.

Internal Struggle

We aren't even through with the book and Harvey has dealt with many problems. In chapter 15, Harvey makes the difficult decision to go back to the Holiday House. This is what we call an internal quest - he's conquering his fear and selfishness by risking his life to save the other children at the Hood House.

Poll

Let's make a prediction about what you think will happen at the Holiday House once Harvey and Wendell are back.

• Harvey is able to save Mrs. Griffin, Lulu, and Wendell, but the House and its magic are left.

• Harvey destroys the magic of the Holiday House, and he and Wendell barely make it out alive.

• Harvey defeats Rictus, Marr, Carna, and Jive, and convinces Hood to give all the children their stolen years back.

• Harvey defeats Hood and all the evil at the Holiday House, and all the children are set free.