Although its specific characters and setting do not appear in other Mahy novels, The Tricksters clearly continues a number of Mahy's interests and concerns from earlier novels. In Harry we have another strong, young, imaginative Mahy heroine who must cope with the pleasures and perils of family life.

She must also cope with the confusions of becoming an adult—socially, intellectually, and sexually. Surrounding these heroines, usually isolated in a family retreat at the edge of civilization, is magic and mystery, often generated through the power of the young heroine's imagination and sensitivity.

Thus, in novels like The Catalogue of the Universe and Dangerous Spaces (and in other works) characters like Harry must resolve the disruptions they origDangerous Spaces or The Catalogue of the inate in order to master and discipline Universe). their burgeoning powers.