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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 old is Elisabeth Demand as the book begins?

2. In Elisabeth's dream in Part 1, what is Daniel peeling?

3. When does Daniel remember buying a postcard of a little girl in a park?

4. What type of tree does Daniel think are good for telegraph poles?

5. How tall is the fence that has been erected across a stretch of land near the village where Wendy lives?

Short Essay Questions

1. In 1993, what did Elisabeth's mother tell her to do instead of interviewing Daniel for the school assignment?

2. What incident is described that took place in September 1943?

3. What happened in September 2015 in Nice that upset people?

4. What does Daniel want at the end of the description of him being inside a tree?

5. In pages 1-52, what does Elisabeth discover when she goes to visit Daniel, and what does she do while she sits with him?

6. In 1993, what did Daniel tell Elisabeth about his name?

7. In pages 1-13, after Daniel makes clothes in his dream and returns to the shore, what does he see?

8. How did Elisabeth's mother embarrass her in 1993?

9. What collage did Daniel describe to Elisabeth in 1995?

10. When Elisabeth was 13, what did Wendy decide about Elisabeth's relationship with Daniel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Elisabeth and Daniel meet because they are neighbors. What does it mean to be neighbors? Why do neighbors need to find common ground? In the novel, what compromises does Smith suggest help relationships between neighbors and why are those compromises necessary?

Essay Topic 2

Twice in the novel the phrase “it was the worst of times” is used in the novel. How does Smith use the phrase to highlight her disapproval of British conservatives and the pro-Brexit movement? What else does she criticize when she uses that phrase? What does she reveal about the reactions to Brexit and populism? In what way does the novel reveal that Smith believes it to be the worst of times?

Essay Topic 3

Daniel remembers a letter his sister wrote when she was caring for their mother. Why did Hannah write about hope and about time? Why did she believe that they were both important and not to be wasted?

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This section contains 966 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample