Aunt Maria communicates adventure, suspense, and message through a variety of literary techniques. Mig, the narrator, is a likeable character with whom the reader can easily identify, and her down-to-earth reactions to mysterious happenings and magic spells lend them credibility. Jones also makes fantastic events seem more believable by beginning the action of the novel in a realistic setting, the way C. S. Lewis does in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or Lewis Carroll does in Alice in Wonderland. So effectively does Jones use the technique that the narrative moves smoothly from the Laker home to Aunt Maria's strange domain.

The attention Jones pays to the everyday details of domestic life, such as setting the table or pouring tea, serves the same purpose of enhancing believability. Careful description is an important feature of the novel. Jones uses words that help to convey an ominous...