Gillian Cross Quotes

“Through further conversation, Dinah gathers that the main target of the boy’s animosity is directed towards the school’s Headmaster.”

“Dinah is enrolled at the same school and quickly comes to understand that something is not quite right; all of the children are prim, proper, and utterly perfect.”

“Dinah Glass starts at a new school and finds it to be very out of the ordinary. None of the children play typical games in the playground; they just stand around in circles, memorising multiplication tables and dates of kings and queens of England.”

“Lloyd opened his mouth to answer her, but before he could say anything a tall, fair-haired boy came slouching across the playground towards them. He did not seem in any hurry, but as soon as he was close to Lloyd he whispered, with great urgency, ‘Quick! What was Harvey doing, going into school?”

“Lloyd and Harry Harvey worry that their new foster-sister Dinah will become one of “them” - the oddly well-behaved children at their school.”

“Her two new foster brothers seem very nervous of the Headmaster and she soon finds out why when she meets him herself. Tall and thin in his black gown, with white hair and black glasses, he isn’t a very comfortable character to spend any time with.”

“They do not make mistakes, they do not play, scream, or fight, and they carry out their day-to-day activities as demanded by the omniscient Headmaster, in a very precise, robotic manner.”

“On Dinah’s first day at school she senses something is wrong. The kids work even during playtime, and are neat and behave well but what is the secret of the Headmaster’s control over them, and why are they afraid?”

“Dinah begins to suspect that something is not quite right in the school, particularly surrounding the headmaster. When she voices her concern to her peers they all reply with exactly the same phrase, ‘the headmaster is a wonderful man..”

“Dinah Glass is a young, orphaned girl who is taken in by the Hunters, a sweet family with two boys close to Dinah’s age. Upon her arrival, Dinah soon learns that the two boys, Lloyd and Harvey Hunter, have strong feelings of discomfort regarding the school in which they attend.”