One thing I like about DWJ's books is how perfectly she captures the point of view of children.
Like she does an excellent job of showing how they think and how, especially, kids are not stupid. A lot of people think kids start out stupid and get smarter as they grow older, but kids already start out pretty smart. They notice, they think; they're just missing the life experience and information to apply it correctly.
The scene I always come back to is the part in Lives of Christopher Chant when Christopher's mother tells him she wants him to be part of Society when he grows up. By that she means "rich influential people," but he doesn't know that. She doesn't tell him that. Nobody tells him that. The only society he's ever heard of is the church society, so he thinks his mother wants him to become a missionary.
And, like, he's thinking! He's reasoning! He's taking the information he knows and coming to a logical conclusion! It's not his fault he's missing a whole lot of relevant information!
