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Indigo's Star by Hilary McKay

Summary

Indigo Casson has to go back to school. He has missed a whole term because he was sick with mononucleosis. He didn't miss going to school - before he got sick he was the target of the school bully. The start of the new term brings Tom, an American who is living with his grandmother for the rest of the school year. Tom and Indigo take on the gang at school. Meanwhile, Tom's sister Rose is doing everything she can think of to get their Dad to drop his life in London and return to the family home. Saffy and Sarah are trying to help Indigo and Tom. Caddy is at school wondering about her many boyfriends and Eve, their mother, is painting in her shed at the end of the garden. This is the second book featuring the Casson family.

Booktalk

Indigo Casson has a problem. He has to go back to school. He has been out for a whole term with mono. He really didn't mind not going to school because at school he has been the target of the school bully and his gang. Before Indigo left school they even flushed his head in the toilet. But now Indigo is well again and he has to go back. Someone else is there on the first day of the new term; Tom from America and that changes everything. The gang makes Tom their number one target and he and Indigo soon have a lot in common. Tom soon gets to know the rest of the Casson family. Eve, the mother, is always painting in her shed at the end of garden. Bill, the father spends all his time in London where he is a proper artist. Caddy is mostly away at school but also trying to decide about marrying Michael. Saffy and Sarah try to help Indigo with the bully at school. Rose is trying to get her father to come back from London, while finishing her painting of the whole family on the kitchen wall. Tom and Indigo will help each other with more than just their troubles at school.

265 pages, 5th grade and up

Discussion questions

Warning! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. At the start of the book, Indigo has been away from school for a whole term. While he was sick, he has grown six inches taller and even thinner than he was before. What do you think he expected to find when he returned to school? How was it different?
  2. The red-haired gang leader rules his group of rabble but part way through, they stop doing everything he says. Why do you think that is?
  3. Tom quickly realizes the Casson family is no ordinary family. They accept others into the house, not as guests but as part of the family. How does this help Tom? Would you like to be part of the family?
  4. Rose paints a picture of the whole family on the wall in the kitchen. Who does she leave out and why?
  5. Who is your favorite member of the Casson family? Why?
  6. Indigo and Tom become friends. How are they alike and how are they different?
  7. Do you think Tom will come back?
  8. How has Indigo changed by the end of the book?
  9. Who do you think is the main character of the book? Why?
  10. Will you read the next book about the Casson family?

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