Educators & Librarians
Bring the world of Gideon Irondell and the Magnet of Marjon into your classroom, library or young-reader discussion group.
This page includes reading-level guidance, content information, discussion questions, classroom activities, vocabulary work, worldbuilding exercises, the Five Tribes quiz and book-ordering information.
About the Story
Gideon Irondell and the Magnet of Marjon is an upper-middle-grade fantasy adventure for readers ages ten and up.
Set in a world reshaped by a catastrophic magnetic reversal, the story follows fourteen-year-old Gideon Irondell, a clever thief from a powerless people. Gideon steals food to keep his neighbors alive under the rule of Kull Kalijan, a warlord feared for possessing two extraordinary abilities.
Then impossible powers begin waking inside Gideon.
As Gideon and his friends uncover the truth about his past, they are drawn into a conflict involving five power-bearing tribes, a hidden prophecy and the mysterious Magnet of Marjon.
The novel combines the wonder and friendship of early Harry Potter, the pace of Percy Jackson, and the strategy, mentorship and emotional maturity of Ranger’s Apprentice.
Ideas Worth Discussing
The story supports classroom and book-club discussion across literature, ethics, social studies, leadership and creative writing.
Power and Responsibility
As Gideon’s abilities emerge, he must decide what kind of person he will become and whether strength should be used to control others or protect them.
Friendship and Loyalty
Thea, Bram and Toma are not simply companions. Their judgment, courage and loyalty repeatedly shape Gideon’s choices and help keep him grounded.
Leadership Versus Control
Kull believes order can be created only through domination. Gideon gradually learns that leadership depends on trust, restraint and responsibility.
Prejudice and Division
The Uunders are judged as inferior because they do not possess the abilities of the Five Tribes. The story examines how societies create divisions based on inherited differences.
Identity and Inheritance
Gideon must confront questions about his parents, his origins and the expectations attached to his abilities.
Destiny Versus Choice
The possibility that Gideon may be a legendary Quint raises an important question: does prophecy determine who someone becomes, or does character determine how power is used?
Content Guidance
The novel includes:
- Fantasy action and combat
- Children living under an authoritarian ruler
- References to hunger and food scarcity
- Imprisonment and oppression
- The death of a supporting adult character
- Discussion of Gideon’s deceased parents
- Magical mind influence
- Peril involving young characters
- Emotionally intense confrontations
The story does not contain explicit sexual content, graphic violence, profanity-heavy dialogue or grimdark material.
The overall tone is adventurous and hopeful, with friendship, loyalty and moral courage at its center.
Questions Before, During and After Reading
Open each section below to view suggested classroom, library and book-club questions.
Before Reading
- What qualities make someone a leader?
- Is it possible to use power responsibly without being changed by it?
- Why might a society fear people who are different?
- What is the difference between being clever and being dishonest?
- When is breaking a rule morally justified?
- What makes a friendship trustworthy?
- Do prophecies create destiny, or do people create meaning around them?
- How might a natural disaster reshape a culture hundreds of years later?
During Reading
- Why does Gideon steal, and does his motive change how readers judge him?
- What does Vetra’s advice to think “sideways, not opposite” reveal about Gideon’s upbringing?
- How do Thea, Bram and Toma contribute different strengths to the group?
- Why does Gideon initially resist believing that he has abilities?
- How does the treatment of the Uunders shape Gideon’s view of the Zetash?
- What makes Kull dangerous beyond his physical powers?
- How do adults in the story use secrecy? When is secrecy protective, and when is it harmful?
- Why is Gideon afraid of becoming like Kull?
- What role does strategy play in Gideon’s survival?
- How does the Magnet of Marjon function as both an object and a symbol?
After Reading
- Which of Gideon’s choices best demonstrates leadership?
- Was Gideon right to hide what he could do? Why or why not?
- Which friend has the greatest influence on Gideon?
- How does the story distinguish power from strength of character?
- Why do you think the Five Tribes developed different abilities?
- What does Kull believe about order, and why is his reasoning dangerous?
- Which adult mentor had the most positive effect on Gideon?
- How did your view of Gideon change from the beginning to the end?
- What unanswered question would you most like Book Two to resolve?
- What do you think the Magnet truly wants from Gideon?
- Is Gideon a chosen hero, a self-made hero, or both?
- Which character would make the strongest leader after the events of the book?
Learning Through the World of the Story
Choose Your Tribe
Students select one of the Five Tribes and explain:
- Why they chose that ability
- How they would use it responsibly
- How it could be misused
- What rule should govern its use
- What weakness or limitation it should have
Extension: Form groups by tribe and create a code of conduct for its members.
Design a Sixth Tribe
Create a new tribe and define its:
- Name and ability
- Symbol and colors
- Homeland
- Strengths and limitations
- Leadership structure
- Relationship with the other tribes
- Most important law
Map the Fractured World
Create a map showing:
- The Barrens
- Karthune
- The Fault Lines
- Marjon
- Spinehold
- Major settlements and dangerous regions
- Routes taken by Gideon and his allies
Explain how geography influences politics, travel, trade and conflict.
Leadership Debate
Assign each group a character such as Gideon, Thea, Vetra, Atticus, Fitzlin or Kull.
Students must argue whether the character leads through trust, fear, knowledge, sacrifice or control, using evidence from the text.
The Ethics of Power
Assign each student one tribal ability. Students create:
- One beneficial use
- One dangerous use
- One ethical rule
- One legal restriction
- One justified use
- One situation in which using it would be wrong
Rewrite a Decision
Students select one major decision made by Gideon and rewrite the scene based on a different choice.
They should explain:
- How the plot changes
- Which relationships change
- What new danger is created
- Whether the alternative is wiser or merely safer
Which of the Five Tribes Would Claim You?
Would you move stone with your mind, feel the emotions of others, bend thought, change your form or step through space?
Every ability offers power. Every power carries a cost.
Discover Your PowerVocabulary Activities
Suggested Vocabulary
Students may define each term using context from the novel and then use it in an original sentence.
- Authoritarian
- Allegiance
- Defiance
- Inheritance
- Manipulation
- Perception
- Prophecy
- Restraint
- Strategy
- Surveillance
- Oppression
- Hierarchy
- Instinct
- Consequence
- Displacement
- Resilience
- Identity
- Responsibility
- Sacrifice
- Alignment
Invented-World Vocabulary
Ask students to explain the meaning and purpose of these terms in the novel:
- Zetash
- Uunder
- Quint
- Stonewake
- Heartward
- Greyweave
- Twinform
- Veilstep
- Magnael
- Teslox
- Aurorium
- Fault Lines
Worldbuilding Challenge
Students create five original terms for an invented fantasy world. For each term, they provide:
- A definition
- Its origin
- Who uses the word
- Whether it is respectful, neutral or insulting
- What the word reveals about the culture
Student Writing Prompts
Hidden Ability
Write about the first time you discover an ability no one else knows you possess.
A City With Two Names
Describe a city that has two names because two groups refuse to agree on its identity.
Loyalty or Safety
Write a scene in which a character must choose between loyalty and safety.
Control for Peace
Create a ruler who believes control is necessary for peace.
The Witness
Write from the perspective of someone who sees Gideon use an impossible power.
Entering Marjon
Describe what it would feel like to enter Marjon, where gravity no longer behaves normally.
Words Without Threats
Write a conversation between Gideon and Kull in which neither character is allowed to threaten the other directly.
A Different Kind of Trial
Invent a trial that would test courage without testing physical strength.
Power Failure
Write a scene in which one of the Five Tribe abilities fails at the worst possible moment.
The Meaning of the Magnet
Explain what the Magnet of Marjon might symbolize beyond its physical power.
Free Educator Resources
Download a printer-friendly guide containing the book overview, reading-level information, content guidance, discussion questions, activities, vocabulary and writing prompts.
Formats, ISBNs and Ordering
Gideon Irondell and the Magnet of Marjon
| Author | Terence J. Murphy |
|---|---|
| Series | The Gideon Irondell Trilogy |
| Series position | Book One |
| Recommended age | 10 and up |
| Suggested grades | 5–9 |
| Genre | Fantasy adventure |
| Language | English |
| Trim size | 6 × 9 inches |
Questions About Classroom or Library Use?
For review-copy inquiries, classroom use, library programming, young-reader book clubs or educational materials, contact Terence J. Murphy through the website.
Thank you for helping young readers discover stories that challenge them to think, imagine and decide what they would do with extraordinary power.