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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who first decides to try and help Lisa Shilling?
(a) Betsy Goodman.
(b) Mary Nell Fickett.
(c) Tracy Shilling.
(d) Elizabeth Frazer.

2. According to the narrator, who is "the gasp!!!!" (p. 23) of the school?
(a) Ben Goodman.
(b) Brian Morris.
(c) Tracy Shilling.
(d) Jeremy Bernstein.

3. According to the narrator, who "counts less" (p. 12) than anyone else in the novel?
(a) Betsy Goodman.
(b) Lisa Shilling.
(c) Mary Nell Fickett.
(d) Elizabeth Frazer.

4. Lisa Shilling sometimes speaks with what kind of an affected accent?
(a) French.
(b) Spanish.
(c) English.
(d) Australian.

5. What trait is referred to in the novel as "'Locust Valley Lockjaw'" (p. 30)?
(a) Refusing to apologize for anything.
(b) Refusing to say something bad about someone.
(c) Refusing to eat insects.
(d) Talking without moving your mouth.

Short Answer Questions

1. Lisa Shilling's conversation with her parents opens the novel. What does Lisa tell her parents during this conversation?

2. How does Mrs. Shilling respond when Mary Nell Fickett tries to tell her that Lisa Shilling has a mental illness that needs treatment?

3. The narrator of the novel is...

4. When the narrator describes her mother as a "joiner" (p. 31) what does she mean?

5. Lisa Shilling's conversation with her parents opens the novel. Lisa tries to talk to her parents about something important. Lisa's mother, Mrs. Shilling, responds by doing what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the family situation of the four main characters.

2. What kind of a job does Jeremy Bernstein do as the high school guidance counselor?

3. Why does Elizabeth Frazer gradually become the de facto decision-maker of what is and is not good for Lisa Shilling?

4. What kind of a job does Rev. Fickett do as a church reverend?

5. Describe Mary Nell Fickett's and Besty Goodman's initial attempts to secure professional help for their friend Lisa Shilling.

6. Why does Lisa Shilling feel more comfortable with her new friend Betsy Goodman than with her older friend Mary Nell Fickett?

7. Why does Lisa Shilling tell her parents that she thinks she is mentally ill in front of her friend Mary Nell Fickett?

8. Based on the various descriptions of the four main protagonists' families, do you believe they would all go to the same public high school?

9. Why is Betsy Goodman the youngest of the major protagonists?

10. Mental illness aside, how typical are the four main protagonists of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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