Take a story's temperature by studying its tone. Is it hopeful? Cynical? Snarky? Playful?
Lighthearted and Playful
Even when things get pretty dark up in this novel (and believe us, they do), the tone is still lighthearted and playful. It's just one of the ways we know we're not in a tragedy (that and—spoiler alert—no one dies at the end). This light tone means that we know things will all work out for Flora and her squirrel sidekick somehow, even when it doesn't look good. For example, when Ulysses is first vacuumed up, here's what we're told:
Seemingly, swallowing a squirrel was a bit much even for the powerful, indomitable, indoor/ outdoor Ulysses 2000X. Mrs. Tickham's birthday machine let out an uncertain roar and stuttered to a stop. (3.1)
Hmm… did you notice how there's no sadness or foreboding of any kind in these lines? The author doesn't tell us that it was awful or gruesome or anything like that. In fact, our focus is taken off of the squirrel and onto the vacuum cleaner right away, prompting us to think about the scene in an easier-going kind of way.