In this novel, Bellairs deftly conveys the unhappiness that Anthony Monday feels when he senses that his parents are having financial or personal difficulties, and he captures the torment that a young person can suffer at the hands of cruel schoolmates or unthinking teachers. Anthony enjoys less warmth at home than Bellairs's other young heroes do. His mother, Ginny, continually worries over the family's shaky finances, and Anthony responds by wishing desperately that he could help.

Anthony finds solace in an understanding and sympathetic older person who serves as a surrogate parent. Miss Eells, the somewhat bumbling town librarian, offers Anthony a part-time job at the library and, more importantly, serves as a friend and confidante when his mother cannot give him the assurances he needs.

When Anthony's father suffers a heart attack, Mrs. Monday's sense of the family's financial difficulties intensifies, and Anthony...