“There have always been places in our world where magic gathers.” - L.D. Lapinski

 

Welcome readers, to Day 1 of our book club read-along for OwlCrate Jr's June 2021 book, Strangeworlds Travel Agency by L.D. Lapinski! Grab your suitcases and hold on tight as we dive head first into this fantastical adventure.

Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for Chapters 1 - 9 of Strangeworlds Travel Agency, so make sure you read these chapters before continuing.

Discussion questions are listed below, and anyone who participates in the comments will be entered to win a free OwlCrate Jr box! We’ll be selecting four winners this time around, so make sure you join in for every discussion!


The story so far...

Flick was happy enough living in their old flat in the city, but her parents are super excited to be moving to the small village of Little Wyvern where they’ll have TWO bathrooms. Rather than help her father unpack the day after they arrive, Flick decides to explore her new village and stumbles across The Strangeworlds Travel Agency. What do we have here?

Inside the strange little shop filled with walls of suitcases, Flick meets Jonathan Mercator, Head Custodian, and through a little curiosity Flick discovers she can see magic with the use of special lenses! Or so Jonathan would like her to believe. Skeptical, but excited, Jonathan tells her that she has the ability to become a member of The Strangeworlds Society - a society tasked with looking after all the other worlds in the multiverse! Worlds which Flick would have the ability to access by diving into all those suitcases.

Of course Flick is still a bit skeptical (what 12 year old wouldn’t be?!) so Jonathan tasks her with reading A Study of Particulars In Regards to The Strangeworlds Society, a book that is “a guide to The Strangeworlds Society, to the travel agency, to suitcases, and magic.”

After reading the fascinating book, Flick decides that of course if she truly does have the ability to see new worlds there's nothing left for it. She returns to the travel agency and joins Jonathan on a journey to a world he calls the Crystal Forest, where he teaches her some of the rules of suitcase travel.

What an intriguing start to the story! I can't wait to find out what adventures Flick and Jonathan get up to next!


Questions:

  1. Why do you think Flick has the ability to see magic? Do you think either of her parents would be able to as well?

  2. The suitcases take members of The Strangeworlds Society to different worlds in the multiverse. If you had a suitcase that would lead you wherever you wanted to go, real of fictional, where would you like it to take you?

  3. Why do you think Jonathan reacted so strongly to Mori Hudspeth having a magnifying glass? Why do you think they are a restricted item when Jonathan shares his so freely with Flick?

  4. Why do you think that Elara Mercator, founding member of The Strangeworlds Society, has been the only person ever to have the ability to trap schisms in suitcases?

See you again on Wednesday as we discuss Chapters 10 - 19!

Pick up your June "Wondrous Worlds" box and your signed exclusive copy of Strangeworlds Travel Agency in the OwlCrate Jr Shop!

 

Cori Reed