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. What was one of the main aspects of Ava's circle of friends' lifestyle she didn't like?

2. What has Joyce been trying to convince Eddie to do?

3. What does Ava tell the Sewing Circus?

4. How does Ava see the difference in the condition of homes in the area near the lake from the last time she was there?

5. How does Ava feel about the Sewing Circus being held at the house the night she got her medicine?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Ava live at the beginning of the book and what kind of benefits does that place offer?

2. Who does Joyce see as a shining example for the other girls and why?

3. Why does Ava get angry at the pharmacist when she went to get her prescription?

4. What problem with the state does Joyce have and what does she decide to do about it?

5. Who meets Ava at the airport and why?

6. What do Eddie and Ava do in November?

7. What do Joyce and Ava do the night Gerry brought the envelope to the house?

8. What does Eddie tell Ava about his jail sentence?

9. What does Ava do when she gets up and who does she encounter? How does she feel?

10. What is the best thing that happens in Eddie, Joyce and Ava's life that summer?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ava's self esteem is returning full force as her relationship with Eddie grows, and the sense of guilt and remorse she had suffered for so long is washing away.

1. Why do you think Ava's self esteem could be affected by her relationship with Eddie? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

2. Why do you think Ava has so much guilt and remorse in her life right now? Use examples from the book to support your answer.

3. How would you feel in Ava's position, both before and after her relationship with Eddie started?

Essay Topic 2

The author's use of time shifts is an effective technique that allows her to share Ava's thoughts without the benefit of dialogue with another character.

1. Why do you think using flashbacks is an effective technique to tell about Ava? Use examples from the book to support your answer.

2. Chose one scene in the book that is a flashback and rewrite it as a dialogue between Ava and another person to convey the same information. Which method did you like better?

3. Write a brief summary of what you learned about Ava via the flashbacks. Include not just facts but her emotions and thoughts.

Essay Topic 3

Eddie succumbed to the lowest depths of the drug and street lifestyle and ended up committing murder, for which he paid with ten years of his life. Fortunately, Eddie had found redemption after adversity, though there is also a sense that Eddie still walks a fine line to maintain his forward focus.

1. What do you think is meant by redemption after adversity? Use examples from the book to support your answer.

2. Why do you think Eddie still walks a fine line to maintain his forward focus? Use examples from the book to support your answer.

3. Why do you think people like Eddie decide to change and are able to do so? Use examples from the text and your own life to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,049 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample