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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is Mrs. Bruning when she comes home?

2. With what is Hector occupied as of late?

3. What are Debbie and Patty doing as they look at the yearbook?

4. About what is the song Hector composes at the celebration?

5. What do Peter and Debbie decide to do?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Mrs. Bruning's response about Debbie, and what does Mrs. Bruning give Debbie?

2. Where does Hector find Meadow, and why is he embarrassed?

3. What has Debbie convinced her mother of, and what does she find in her mother's mementos box?

4. How do both Hector's and Mrs. Bruning's hairstyles change in Chapter 20?

5. What book is Debbie reading in Chapter 22 and what does she think about the book and her life compared to the life of the protagonist in the book?

6. How do Debbie and Peter handle the emergency with Mrs. Bruning?

7. What happens when Debbie comes to Mrs. Bruning's house on Saturday immediately after Mrs. Bruning awakens?

8. With what class is Patty struggling and what does she feel from the knowledge she has learned in this class?

9. What are Debbie and Patty doing while looking at the yearbook and what is Debbie thinking about when she looks at her own picture in the yearbook?

10. What does Hector do while waiting for the fireworks?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Characters are an important part of what makes "Criss Cross" interesting. Discuss the following:

1. Thoroughly discuss and analyze Debbie. What are her strengths? Her weaknesses? How does she contribute to the plot? Is she a sympathetic character? Is she ever likable? Never likable? Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.

2. Thoroughly discuss and analyze the character of Hector. What are his strengths? His weaknesses? How does he contribute to the plot? Is he a sympathetic character? Is he ever likable? Never likable? Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.

3. Thoroughly discuss and analyze the character of Dan Persik. What are his strengths? His weaknesses? How does he contribute to the plot? Is he a sympathetic character? Is he ever likable? Never likable? Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

Hector learns that girls, rather than bluntly stating their feelings, may sometimes develop schemes in order to avoid boys, as experienced through his excursion with Rowanne. He also begins to understand that girls his age are in a process of evolution, like the caterpillar to the butterfly, and that he, too, will be changing, although he does not see his change as exotic or as pleasing as the one for the girls he knows.

1. Do you think Hector's belief about girls is correct? Why or why not? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

2. Discuss, in depth, Hector's comparison of teens and caterpillars. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. Why do you think Hector sees the changes that will occur in girls more pleasing than in himself, or probably in most boys? Do you think a heterosexual girl would feel the same way? Why or why not? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Lenny, who probably has one of the most inquisitive minds and who has obviously absorbed much from voracious reading, will not pursue college. He is tracked toward a technical career, because he happens to be skilled using his hands. The others, less agile, have been tracked toward college. Specific interests, such as Hector's unfolding musical talent will perhaps point him in a path far different from his friends. Debbie and Patty demonstrate great insights, as they discuss the impact of one's environment on what he or she ultimately becomes and the growth or decline that may accompany adversity.

1. Do you think Lenny's treatment by the school is a good use of his mind? Why or why not? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

2. Is it realistic for a teenager to believe a special talent such as musical or athletic will enable him or her to earn a living as an adult given the few numbers of musicians who make it big or number of athletes who make it to the pros? Explain your reasoning. Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

3. Discuss your opinion on Debbie's conclusion that environment will greatly shape her life. Do you believe this is true for her? Do you believe this is true for all people? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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