Readers are drawn to The Great Gilly Hopkins largely because of Paterson's complex characterization, dramatic action, original imagery, and literary allusion. She establishes the pace and tone in the opening scene, where Gilly sits in the back seat of Miss Ellis's car, blowing a large bubble and listening to her social worker discuss a former guardian who has been hospitalized because of bad nerves. The bubble explodes. Miss Ellis flinches, and Gilly tries to pick bits of gum from her face and hair. The casual way the bubble explodes on Gilly foreshadows other events that backfire. Asked to get rid of the gum, Gilly maliciously spreads it under the car-door handle. This incident draws the reader into the story, providing background information about Gilly and presenting her as an angry child who is hurt and wants.....
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