Essay Questions

Although Zanna is the Shwazzy, Deeba is the actual hero of the story and the one who saves UnLondon from the Smog. Why is this and why is she not considered the Chosen One?

Zanna is acknowledged to be the Shwazzy, or Chosen One, by the inhabitants of UnLondon. There are several reasons for this, not least because it was Zanna that the black threatening cloud began to follow home from school, rather than Deeba, and when the girls noticed a series of strange and unsettling things happening around them, they centered around and upon Zanna, and nobody else. She was also immediately recognized as the Shwazzy upon arrival in UnLondon.

However, despite this, Zanna did not have as much aptitude for fighting the Smog as Deeba does. When Zanna begins to battle, she is accidentally infected by some of the noxious pollution inside the cloud. This is life threatening to an inhabitant of UnLondon and so she is forced to return to London as quickly as possible, and her memories of UnLondon are erased, meaning that she has no memory of her duty as the Shwazzy or the task at hand. Deeba, though, has not had her memories erased and so remembers what she needs to do in order to defeat the Smog. This makes it possible for her to re-visit UnLondon and begin to take on the role of avenger and destroyer of the Smog. However, this does not make her the Chosen One, because that is something that is pre-destined, not decided in retrospect.

What is the role of Brokenbroll in the novel?

Brokenbroll is in charge of all the umbrellas in UnLondon - or UnBrellas, since none of them really work properly, and are useless when it comes to shielding the owner from the toxicity of the Smog. Umbrellas in UnLondon are useless when it comes to warding off rain from the toxic cloud. He appears to be working with the Prophseers, against the Smog, but it turns out that he has been in cahoots with the Smog all along, and this is why the umbrellas are all broken, and ineffective against the Smog - he has made them that way.

His role is initially to help Zanna and Deeba find and stamp out the Smog, but this is a role that is not at all genuine, and he is almost a double agent in that he pretends to be on the side of right but has been supporting the Smog all along. His role in terms of the girls is also to show them that they should not trust anyone in UnLondon unless they have experience of them first.