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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. Where is Ginny told to wait?

2. What seems to take forever?

3. Where does Ginny realize she needs to go?

4. What was one of Aunt Peg's rules for Ginny's adventures?

5. What does Ginny buy at a grocery store?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Ginny go after Copenhagen and how does she end up with friends going with her?

2. Why does Ginny have to look for a hostel in Amsterdam and how does she feel about the first one she finds?

3. What does Ginny do the first day with the Knapps?

4. What does Ginny find at the second hostel she stops at and how does she end up spending the night there? What does she do once she has a place?

5. How does Ginny find the cafe and what does she do there?

6. What does Keith tell her when she sees him at the hostel and what do they do from there?

7. How does Ginny find a key?

8. How does Ginny feel about getting out of the cemetery and what does Keith do when she says she missed the locking of the hostel?

9. Where does Ginny go first in Paris and what does the letter say that she opens there?

10. What does Ginny see with Knud and what happens there?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ginny decides to buy all the tickets to the show in order to donate the money to the producer. She then realizes the flaw in her plan. Though she'd bought out all the tickets, she effectively ensured that no one else would see him perform. The next morning Ginny finds herself evaluating the choices she made where clothing and footwear is concerned. She is sorry that she ever read the guidebooks that recommended white sneakers. She not only didn't blend in the way she generally preferred to, but actually stood out. Ginny realizes that this is likely one of the reasons Aunt Peg instructed her to avoid the guidebooks entirely. Frankly, she felt like a freak.

1. Discuss the ways in which Ginny both harmed and helped Keith by buying all the tickets. Use examples from your own life and "13 Little Blue Envelopes" to support your answer.

2. Ginny seems to have made a couple of bad choices in clothing and in giving away the money from her aunt. If Ginny was her friend what would you advise her? Use examples from your own life and "13 Little Blue Envelopes" to support your answer.

3. Thinking over a day in school, without names, discuss a student in your school who you thinks is like Ginny, shy and trying to blend in all the time. Use examples from your own life and "13 Little Blue Envelopes" to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Ginny is astounded that even from the grave Peg seemed able to give Ginny exactly what she needs most. She had always been good at that in the past, calling intuitively when Ginny needed her. Mari tells Ginny that she was sorry to hear about her Aunt's passing, and claims that Peg felt terrible about leaving Ginny behind. Ginny spends most of the train ride back to London explaining everything to Keith after which he tells her he doesn't like what Peg did to her. Ginny defends her. When they are almost home, he pulls out a small Godzilla that he stole from Mari's and Ginny gets angry. When he sees she doesn't want it, he tosses it on the tracks in the tube station, making Ginny even more angry. Unable to understand why she is so upset, he tells her he'll take the bus and disappears into the crowd before Ginny can say anything else.

1. Discuss, in depth, what you think about Peg's character that Ginny would think Peg could predict Ginny so well. Use examples from your own life and "13 Little Blue Envelopes" to support your answer.

2. Mara says that Peg felt terrible about leaving Ginny, and yet, Peg never contacted Ginny about her illness. Discuss what you think is the reason for this. Use examples from your own life and "13 Little Blue Envelopes" to support your answer.

3. Why do you think Ginny was angry at Keith and why do you think Keith became angry at Ginny's anger? Use examples from your own life and the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Often, authors will write about "what they know," and sometimes knowing a little about the author makes the books more interesting. Discuss the following:

1. Research and give a brief biographical sketch of Maureen Johnson.

2. What in Johnson's background may have helped him in writing "13 Little Blue Envelopes"? What may have influenced the way he depicts various characters and scenes?

3. Do you think there is always some of the author's own life in his/her novels? Why or why not? Give examples.

(see the answer keys)

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