Characters
The name of the baby owl that October rescues.
Stig
To have a lifestyle where you do not use public utilities, such as electricity.
Where do October and her dad live at the start of the story?
In the woods
"I eat my hot stew with my fingers and the juices drip down my chin and I am wild."
October
October Holt
To need no outside help in satisfying one's basic needs, like food and shelter.
To be self-sufficient
Why does October not tell her dad about the gold ring she finds?
She wants to come up with a great story for the ring before she tells him.
"I've missed you so much that sometimes I thought I would burst into a thousand pieces with the feeling"
October's mother
Her father - Ezra Holt
When you feel something is so intense or powerful that it is difficult to handle.
You feel...?
Overwhelmed
Why must October go and live with her mother in London?
Her father falls out of a tree and is badly hurt. He stays unconscious for weeks in hospital.
"It's best she's here we know what's best for owls and you saved her you really did and now you're doing what's right"
(No name, just where October meets this person)
Man at the owl rescue centre
The phrase October uses to refer to her mother.
"The woman who is my mother"
A word to describe when something is not friendly or inviting - we used it to describe October's opinion of life in London.
Unwelcoming
Why does October's mother think Stig should live somewhere else?
She is a wild animal, the city is not the right environment for her, will make her ill.
"How will you look after yourself if you stay here on your own?"
October's mother
The picture in October's mothers house - what is it of?
A leveret (baby rabbit)
What does October call the hospital crew who come to help her father?
(Chapter 14)
The "orange people"
To be unable to control your intense feelings, so they come out in loud outbursts.
To be emotionally dysregulated
For how many years has October not seen her mother, before she turns up on her eleventh birthday?
Seven years
(She was four when she last saw her, she is now eleven years old.)
"You were the tiniest thing I'd ever seen"
October's father, Ezra Holt
Name as many reasons as you can remember about why October does not like her mother's house in London. (Chapter 21)
- It is small
- Can hear neighbours through the walls
- Her mother's garden has no grass or trees
- Noise is not from animals, but cars and shouts, it is too loud
- Furniture (esp in bathroom) is unwelcoming
- Cannot see stars out of the windows at night