Talking points and suggested questions for book groups:

Discussion Questions for The Case of the Misplaced Modifiers

1.     What is your pet language pet-peeve?

2.     Have you ever wanted to correct someone’s behavior or language in public, and did you? How did that go?

3.     What did you learn, if anything, about grammar while reading this novel?

4.     Which characters did you like the most? Did you have a favorite part of the book?

5.     Ali Gorry makes “Hope Tea” for Hope Esperanza and Stormy’s favorite coffee. If Ali made you a special beverage, what would it be?

6.     Mariah texts with her deceased brother, Joe, in the Great Grammatical Beyond via the Necromancer machine. If you could communicate with someone via the Necromancer machine, who would it be?

7.     Tenuto wonders what magical power he will receive when he turns 18. If you could come into your own magical power at age 18, what would it be?

8.     Polly Chrome gave Mariah a bottle of “Baby’s Laugh” to cheer her up. What kind of bottled smell or sound would you like to buy from Polly’s shop?

9.     Several of the characters have secrets: Mariah, Sister Bernadette, Greg Gibson, Tenuto, Mrs. Brown. Are secrets important in mystery novels? Are these secrets realistic, and could you relate to them?

10.  Mariah’s addiction, Greg Gibson’s proclivities, and Miss Dartle’s refugee status all have parallels in our world. What did you think of the author’s way of handling these issues?

11. Would you like to read more about Mariah and her friends?