Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Pancakes (Chapter 1)

2. His passport (Chapter 2)

3. International Geographic (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. He is unhappy because he thinks Kate is intimidating. He wishes he could go stay with his other grandmother, like his sisters are doing. (Chapter 1)

2. He angrily decides that he will prove that he is grown-up enough to get to Kate’s apartment by himself. (Chapter 2)

3. She gives him a flute that once belonged to his grandfather, who was a well-known flutist. (Chapter 3)

Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. Nadia (Chapter 4)

2. Mauro Carías (Chapter 5)

3. A snake (Chapter 6)

Short Answer

1. Alex’s preconceptions about the area are challenged when he realizes that Manus is a thriving modern city. He is also surprised—and dismayed—by the economic inequality he sees in the city. (Chapter 4)

2. He warns them that it can be fatally dangerous for outsiders to go into the forest looking for the Beast and tells them that there is a cannibalistic spirit-bird called Rahakanariwa causing trouble in the forest.