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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. What are mementos of her mother's that Debbie finds?

2. How does Mrs. Bruning feel about going into assisted living?

3. What does Debbie give Mrs. Bruning when the elderly woman comes downstairs on Saturday?

4. What did Peter hear when he woke Saturday morning at his grandmother's?

5. Who picks up what falls out of Russell's pocket?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Debbie and Patty doing while looking at the yearbook and what is Debbie thinking about when she looks at her own picture in the yearbook?

2. Where does Hector find Meadow, and why is he embarrassed?

3. What is Lenny doing in Chapter 22 while Debbie is in the backyard reading and what saddens him when he goes into his house and comes back out?

4. What book is Debbie reading in Chapter 22 and what does she think about the book and her life compared to the life of the protagonist in the book?

5. What subject does Peter's father approach with Mrs. Bruning and what is her response?

6. How does Debbie's necklace end up in a tar patch after Dan picked it up?

7. What does Debbie hear her mother telling a friend about Debbie's upcoming summer?

8. What does Hector do while waiting for the fireworks?

9. What is Peter's father's response to Mrs. Bruning's objections? How are his objections handled?

10. Who is at the Tastee Freez when the guitar lesson group arrives there and how does Hector feel about the class going to the Tastee Freez?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Oftentimes, a book has more of a character-driven plot rather than action driven, and sometimes it is the other way around. Some books seem to balance the two. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

5. What type of plot do you think "Criss Cross" is? Explain your response.

Essay Topic 2

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 Lynne Rae Perkins.

2. What in Perkins's background may have helped her in writing "Criss Cross"? What may have influenced the way she 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.

Essay Topic 3

Debbie matures and grows throughout the book.

1. What do you think might be some of the reasons Debbie is maturing? Use examples from the book to support your answer.

2. Do you think Debbie's maturity shown in the book is unrealistic in the short amount of time period the book covers? Why or why not?

3. Discuss the ways that Debbie shows changes in her maturity in the book.

(see the answer keys)

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