A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

Discuss the point of view and tone of the novel. Would the tone be the same without the first-person narration? What are the potential benefits and downfalls of the first-person point-of-view, particularly from the perspective of a 14-year-old narrator?

Analyze the protagonist Mona. In what ways is she a compelling and/or fully realized character? In what ways does she fit and resist common character types in young adult fantasy? Discuss using examples from the text.

Compare/contrast the three adult women in Mona’s life, Aunt Tabitha, the Duchess, and Knackering Molly. How do their differing roles/positions in society influence both their characterizations and the impacts they have on Mona? In what ways are they different and the same, and how might these comparisons contribute to the book’s themes?