View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Tariq's grandmother?

2. What did Tariq and Tyrell do together before Tariq died?

3. Who shoots Tariq?

4. What did Tariq start calling Tyrell that seemed to stick with others?

5. What does Brick tell Noodle he wishes he had done the night Tariq was killed?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Brick think about whether or not Tariq has a gun when he is shot?

2. Why do Will's friends often make fun of him?

3. What does Steve Connors think about the importance of appearances and clothing when you are a black man?

4. What does Tina think about the sirens outside her open window on the night Tariq is killed?

5. What does Sammy think about whether or not Tariq had a gun when he is shot?

6. How does Noodle feel about Tariq?

7. How does Tyrell find out that it was Tariq who was shot and killed on Peach Street?

8. Whose house does Jack Franklin go to to hide out and avoid all the media attention he receives after killing Tariq?

9. What is the first thing Tyrell does when he hears there was a shooting on Peach Street?

10. Why does Reverend Alabaster Sloan feel guilty about Tariq's killing?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Magoon employs many different characters' perspectives in this novel, and she uses a unique voice for each character. Choose two characters with very different voices - for instance, Steve Connors and Noodle - and write an essay comparing and contrasting the specific language, tone, and style that Magoon employs for each.

Essay Topic 2

Choose two characters who have exact opposite opinions about one of the most critical issues concerning the night Tariq was shot - whether or not Tariq had a gun in his hand at the time of his death - and write an essay explaining why each of the characters seems absolutely sure that what he or she saw was correct.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing why Tyrell finds it difficult to comfort Tariq's father Terrence when they meet briefly at Tariq's funeral and how Terrence's absence from his family and irresponsibility seems to represent a broader problem in the community of Underhill.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 692 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample