“So Mika remembered having plenty to eat, a warm bed, and all the books she could possibly read, but very little in the way of companionship or love.”

Mika recalls the drawbacks of how Primrose raised her, with a revolving door of tutors and nannies who never stuck around long. This quote not only provides background for Mika’s struggles to connect to others but also develops the theme of The Importance of Family by showing how a lack of permanence impacted her during her youth.

“Magic is attracted to the people who can use it. It can also be mischievous. When there’s so much of it in one place, it takes a very, very strong will to keep it in line. Accidents are much more likely.”

Here, Mika explains to Ian, Jamie, Ken, and Lucie why the girls have caused so many unwanted magical outbursts and why it’s risky for her to come to Nowhere House and add to the magic in the area. This quote not only helps clarify the structure of magic in the novel but also develops the theme of Freedom Versus Safety by showing that Mika isn’t free to accept the job immediately because of the risks of doing so.

“It didn’t matter if she was looking across a garden with a tree house or through the shutters of a tiny shed or out of the window of a slightly grotty flat—the sea was the sea. It frothed and frolicked and had a beastly temper, but Mika would never wake up one day and find it gone. It knew all her secrets. It knew her. And it stayed.”

This passage establishes Mika’s affinity for the sea and why she feels drawn to its permanence. The sea symbolizes Mika’s longing for stability and companionship, and her finding comfort in its presence illustrates her deep need for a family and a place to call home. Aside from magic, the sea is the only thing Mika feels close to.