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Seven Spiders Spinning
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Plot Summary of Seven Spiders Spinning
"Seven baby "Siberian snow spiders" -- highly poisonous tarantulas which have been frozen since the last Ice Age -- are discovered and transported to Harvard for study, but the truck crashes and its precious cargo escapes near the quiet Vermont town of Hamlet. The spiders imprint on seven girls who attend Josiah Fawcett Elementary School and call themselves the Tattletales Club, at first adoring the girls, then turning to vengeful hate. The Tattletales are competing with the boys club, the Copycats, to win first prize in the annual Halloween Pageant of Horrors, and the only odd person out is Pearl Hotchkiss, who doesn't believe in clubs, but happens upon one of the spiders and takes it home for a surprise. Meanwhile, the remaining six spiders stalk their prey. "
David Loftus, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Seven Spiders Spinning
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%




Tone of book - humorous or laughable
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy story on current Earth
Coming of age Yes
Youngster becomes - an adult (general)
Parody Yes
Is this an adult or child's book? - Kid's book (ages 7-14)
Horror story? Yes
Horror plotlets - the bodysnatchers are coming!

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - student
Age: - a kid
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - bug
Profession/status: - killer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a lot

Setting
Terrain - Forests
Earth setting: - 20th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to Seven Spiders Spinning
The Witches by Roald Dahl
A Ghost in the House by Betty Ren Wright
The Magic Alliance by Cliff McNish
Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn
The Mummy, The Will and The Crypt by John Bellairs


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Gregory Maguire Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
David Loftus  

SCHOLARS:
Krisha Williams  Jack Goodstein  Sherrie L. Jones  fran laniado  


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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