SuitabookI put a spell on you
Adam Selzer
- Reading
- Before reading, ask which character's situation feels most difficult. Afterwards, compare their choices under pressure and discuss whether public attention changes how their actions are understood.
- Themes
- Achievement pressure: Jennifer is overscheduled because her parents are focused on college applications, while the spelling bee is televised and highly sought after. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Belonging in a new school: Mutual, previously home-schooled, enrols in public school for the first time in order to participate in the spelling bee. The premise creates a situation about entering an unfamiliar school community, without establishing whether Mutual is welcomed, excluded or changed by it.
- Questioning authority: Chrissie suspects that something is off at the bee, while Principal Floren behaves suspiciously to the other characters and denies being a crook. The setup invites attention to evidence, trust and authority, but it does not establish whether the suspicions are justified or how the story judges the investigation.
- Worth knowing
- The central tension appears to involve suspicion and investigation rather than clearly described danger. The spelling bee also brings performance pressure and public scrutiny; the intensity and resolution are not established.