64 pages 2 hours read

Mary Downing Hahn

Closed for the Season

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2009

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Character Analysis

Logan Forbes

Logan is a thirteen-year-old boy who is extremely intelligent, strait-laced, and often anxious. He is prone to following the rules, gets nervous about breaking them, and desperately hates disappointing his parents. Logan enjoys reading but upon moving to Bealesville, initially wants to reinvent himself and become a popular jock. When he meets Arthur, however, Logan eventually learns to embrace his own intelligence and occasionally break the rules.

Logan is a clear foil to Arthur’s lackadaisical self. He often worries endlessly about getting caught trespassing, frequently thinks about his mother’s many warnings, and is overall more eager to go home than solve a mystery. This character trait is most evident when the boys arrive at Wal-Mart. Hahn writes, “When we finally pulled up at Wal-Mart’s sliding doors, I chained my bike to a rack, and Arthur dumped his classic Raleigh on the sidewalk” (66). Forever the obedient child, Logan is careful to chain up his bicycle while Arthur dumps his freely. Logan learns to loosen up slightly, however, through his interactions with Arthur. He becomes similarly motivated to solve Mrs. Donaldson’s murder.

Logan is more socially aware than Arthur, and is frequently seen to be kinder as well.