Closed for the Season

Compare and contrast the characters of Logan, Arthur, and Danny. How do these three boys represent different qualities and privileges inherent to their class status? What might Hahn be attempting to convey to the reader with these different depictions?

How does wealth and privilege function in Closed for the Season?

Track Bear’s intimate connection with the boys. How does this connection manifest in physical, emotional, and mental ways?

How are most of the female characters portrayed within the novel? Why might this be the case?

How might Danny and Anthony be more similar than they think? What might Hahn be gesturing towards with both the DiSilvios and the Phelpses being at the root of the wickedness in Bealesville?

Was Mrs. Jenkins correct when she said that “the Phelpses and the Jarmons are the worst families in town” (28)? How might the resolution of the mystery and the reveal of the actual culprits challenge her assumption?

Track Hahn’s descriptions of Violet Phelps. Does she truly overcome her fear of the Witch’s Hut at the end of the novel—the symbol of the fear that has come to blanket over her life? If so, what causes her to escape that cycle of terror?

Discuss the pros and cons of the movement to save the Magic Forest. Who, exactly, would the saved amusement park help? Who else might benefit from a new development? How do these questions throw the title of the novel into a different light?