The members of Unit 919 experience challenges in learning to handle their special abilities and gifts—particularly Morrigan, whose status as a Wundersmith sets her apart. As the characters are also in early adolescence, this process coincides with their coming of age, implying parallels between the two. Ultimately, the characters’ journey toward understanding and controlling their abilities echoes a broader process of self-discovery and maturation.

Morrigan longs for the opportunity to learn to handle her special abilities, as she is thrilled by the power she feels using Wunder and excited about what she can create with it. Furthermore, as she impresses the members of the Silver District with her examples of Weaving, she realizes that the exercise of these abilities may mean that she is taken more seriously. Instead of experiencing prejudice, like that shown by Laurent St. James and the Concerned Citizens, she might eventually earn admiration. Learning to handle her special abilities is thus bound up in Morrigan’s emerging sense of identity and agency, bolstering her confidence in who she is and what she can accomplish.

The close association between Morrigan’s skills and the development of her self-esteem implies that nurturing adolescents’ interests and aptitudes plays a critical role in their transition to adulthood. The novel underscores this point by contrasting Morrigan’s two mentors. Both want to see Morrigan progress in her education, but Jupiter is reluctant to give Morrigan the latitude to exercise her abilities fully and to make mistakes, fearing that she will get hurt. Ezra Squall, on the other hand, doesn’t hesitate to expose Morrigan to the consequences of her actions. Where Jupiter is quick to excuse her reaction of fright when she first sees the Unresting, Squall doesn’t try to soothe Morrigan’s feelings when she makes a mistake—for instance, destroying the floor of the Receiving Room in her first meeting with the Darlings and invoking Tempus when she becomes emotionally overwhelmed. The men’s differing approaches to Morrigan’s skills speak to their broader philosophy of “parenting”—(over)protective versus supportive. For instance, where Jupiter tries to protect Morrigan from the cruelty of others by lying about his communicating with the Darlings, Ezra warns Morrigan that members of the Silver District once made pets of Wundersmiths and likely find her valuable because of this. In this case, Jupiter’s actions, though well-meaning, limit Morrigan’s ability to make informed decisions, thus underscoring how the desire to shelter a child can interfere with their development of agency.

Morrigan’s classmates, including Francis and his cooking, Hawthorne and his dragon riding, and Cadence and her skills of deduction, provide further confirmation of the rewards in store when youngsters are supported in cultivating their unique abilities. Vesta’s surprise skill at dragonriding—though she is only 11 and requires accommodations—is one last illustration of this theme, which Jupiter’s apology to Morrigan crystallizes. The novel argues that supporting youth’s abilities bolsters their confidence in who they are while allowing them to practice the choice and responsibility expected of adults, setting them up for success later in life.