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Reaction to "The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag" by Alan Bradley By Ninu Forrest

I read "The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag" for my independent novel study. I really enjoyed this book, and was able to analyze it in a way I wouldn't have had the opportunity to if I had simply read it on my own time. This book had a strong sense of theme, a fairly direct audience, many things to be learned, and, in my opinion, is a great read for a variety of people.

The main theme that the author expresses throughout this novel is how adults often underestimate the capabilities of youth. He successfully shows this theme in Flavia’s interactions with other characters, her own actions, and in the climax of the story. Whenever Flavia tries to bring forward her own speculation or evidence, she is brushed off by Inspector Hewitt and the others around her. Even her sisters not much older than her treat Flavia without deep interest in what she has to say. This is a common idea in this novel and in real life. Though youth are filled with limitless ideas, their inexperience in life compared to adults makes them sometimes unheard. Bradley tries to get this message across to multiple audiences, and gets people to see this problem from the point of view of a young person.

From this book, I learned about how we treat and perceive others. In Flavia’s perspective, she is not listened to by those older than her, and finds it hard to be respected. She is still a child, but has the intelligence of someone beyond her years and is able to think creatively when those around her cannot. Flavia tries to treat others, with the exception of Ophelia, the way she wants to be treated. This is a valuable lesson for everyone, and helps to see things the way others do. Another thing I learned in this book was how we perceive and judge others. For example, in the murder of Rupert Porson, until the evidence piles up, Inspector Hewitt and Flavia don’t even suspect Grace for killing him. They perceive her to be fragile and incapable of murder. This thought process, whether we recognize it or not, is something we all do. It takes focus to try and break the stereotypes in our minds and think outside the box of perception.

I truly appreciated the writing of Alan Bradley, and will read his next book, “A Red Herring Without Mustard”. I read the book before this one, and loved it, but I loved this one even more. If this pattern continues, I will adore his third book in the Flavia de Luce series. Alan Bradley is very good at getting his point across and giving just enough information to keep you engaged but guessing. I can’t wait for the next book!

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