# data[].attributes.body
"'It's hard to concentrate with you standing over me breathing like that.'
'I could stop breathing,' said Flora." (Ch.10, p.28)
O: Flora's mother is trying to say that she does not want Flora to stand over her, but Flora says she could stop breathing instead.
N: Flora is being sarcastic towards her mother. She is so funny and clever! The book is funny because of a lot of the things she says. The humour is a little dark since it suggests that Flora could die so that her mother can concentrate on work.
W: I wonder if she is sarcastic only towards her mother, or is she like this to other adults as well?

# data[].attributes.body
"these were the kind of idiotic words her parents spoke. And they said the words to each other, even
though they were pretending that they were talking to Flora." (Ch. 10, p. 27)
O: Flora's parents talk to each other through Flora.
N: It must be uncomfortable and annoying for Flora to be caught between her parents.
W: I wonder if Flora's parents are aware of the impact of their behaviour on her? I wonder if Flora has ever
shown her displeasure.

# data[].attributes.body
"Before the divorce, before her father had moved out of the house and into an apartment, he had often sat beside her at night and read aloud to her from The Illuminated Adventures of the Amazing Incandesto! It was his favourite comic. [...] Not that he said it these days. He didn't say much of anything anymore. Her father had always been a sad, quiet man. but since the divorce, he had become even sadder and quieter. Which was fine with Flora. Really. Cynics don't like a lot of chatter." (Ch. 12, p 37-38)
O: Flora's father used to read comics to Flora at bedtime. Flora's father is described to be sad and quiet, and even "sadder and quieter" since the divorce. Flora says she doesn't mind it because she is a cynic.
N: Flora's father seems distant from Flora. He is physically distant from her, now that he lives separately from her, but they also lost some activities they used to enjoy doing together (reading comics together). He is talks less to Flora now, creating an emotional
distance between the two.
If I were Flora, I think I would be very sad about being less close to my father.
W: I wonder if Flora got her love for comics from her father. Does she love comics because it reminds her of the great times she used to have with her father? Does she really not mind her father's silence? Is cynicism a way she is trying to cope with her own
sadness/loss?

# data[].attributes.body
"This malfeasance must be stopped," said Flora in a deep and superheroic voice." (Ch.1, p.7)
O: Flora pretends she is a character from a comic book.
N: This happened before even Ulysses appeared in her life. She seems to have vivid imagination and she must really be deeply influenced by comic books to view the world in this way!
W: I wonder what it is like to see the world the way she does.

# data[].attributes.headline
The way Flora sees herself and the world she lives in

# data[].attributes.subject
The way Flora sees herself and the world she lives in

# data[].attributes.body
"One of Flora's very favourite bonus comics was entitled TERRIBLE THINGS CAN HAPPEN TO YOU! As a cynic, Flora found it wise to be prepared. Who knew what horrible, unpredictable things would happen next?" (Ch.4, p.14)
O: Flora enjoys the bonus comic, TERRIBLE THINGS CAN HAPPEN TO YOU and finds that it prepares her for life.
N: Based on the title, the comic sounds quite morbid! She seems to think that life will bring her quite a lot of "horrible, unpredictable things".
W: I wonder if the comic is based on actual facts and really equips her with skills to deal with such situations.
I wonder why she sees life in this way. Has she encountered many "horrible and unpredictable things"? I wonder if this actually enabled her to be the resourceful person that she is.

# data[].attributes.body
"And again, Flora's heart leaped up high inside of her in a hopeful and extremely uncynical kind of way. She closed her eyes. Don't hope, she told her heart. Do not hope; instead, observe. [...] hope sometimes got in the way of action." (Ch.11, p.33)
O: Flora felt hope but she told herself not to hope as she thinks hope is not always constructive.
N: This is quite unusual behaviour! She is very cautious about controlling what she feels.
It seems like she is controlling her feelings so that she can think, feel, and behave like a cynic. If there is a need to act against her impulse, it seems like she is not the "natural-born cynic" she claims she is.
W: Why doesn't she enjoy her heart leaping from hope the way I enjoy it?
Is her belief sound? Do I agree that we always need to be so realistic?

# data[].attributes.body
"As she ran, she thought, For a cynic, I am a surprisingly helpful person." (Ch.4, p.12)
O: Flora thinks that her helpfulness is unlike a cynic's behaviour.
N: Her helpfulness seems to comes from how she sees herself as a character in a superhero comic (as superheroes often "save the day"). Her cynicism is also informed by comics.
W: I wonder if she ever feels conflicted by the two.

# data[].attributes.body
"She was a natural-born cynic who lived in defiance of contracts!" (Ch.1, p.6)
O: Flora thinks she was born with cynicism.
N: This statement carries such a heroic and rebellious tone!
W: I wonder if one is really born with cynicism. Why is she so proud to be a cynic?

# data[].attributes.body
"Flora's mother never called Flora beautiful. She never said that she loved her with all her heart.
Luckily, Flora was a cynic and didn't care whether her mother loved her or not." (Ch. 10, p.30)
O: Flora's mother does not say many positive things about Flora to Flora. Flora says she does not care.
N: This does not sound like what a parent-child relationship should be. Even though my mom my not tell me that she loves me, I know through her actions she does, but Flora does not seem to share the same certainty about her mother's love for her.
This is also not the first time that Flora is describing herself as a cynic.
W: I wonder if Flora really doesn't care, or does she? What is a cynic?

# data[].attributes.body
"'Tootie,' she said. 'Tootie Tickham. Listen, Tootie. Go inside. Feed your husband. Say nothing to him or to anyone else about any of this." (Ch. 8, p.22)
O: Because Tootie was so shocked by what she had seen, Flora gives her step-by-step instructions about what she should do.
N: Flora calls an adult by her full name! That is quite unusual, especially I tend to call adults by some term of respect. She also speaks in a commanding tone towards an adult.
She seems to know what to do to deal with the issue.
W: I wonder if this is how Flora treats all adults. I wonder what plan Flora has in mind?

# data[].attributes.body
"'But will you return?' said William Spiver. Flora looked up and saw William Spiver's words hanging in the air above him like a small, tattered flag." (Ch.25, p. 83-84)
O: William Spiver asks if Flora will return.
Flora describes his words as "a small tattered flag."
N: Flora visualises words! The description is imaginative--It doesn't directly tell me what the font looks like (round, narrow, cursive, etc.) but compares the words to "a small, tattered flag". It makes ME have to imagine what the words look like too. It doesn't seem like a very positive description because of "small" and "tattered" even though a "flag" is something we should display with pride.
W: I wonder if the description of the words tells me more about William Spiver or Flora--is the description a reflection of how he sounded vulnerable when he said that, or is that what Flora thinks of the want for human company? How will William Spiver and Flora's relationship develop? William Spiver wants to meet Flora again but does Flora want to meet him too?