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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 does Alexandra's mother call J?

2. What creature does Alexandra see for the first time in real life in Ithaca?

3. What does Alexandra ask her sister to do more often in Part IV?

4. What does Alexandra's high school do to try to help heal after the 17 year-old's murder there?

5. What does J once tell Alexandra is a reason he loves her?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Alexandra feel about Rob?

2. What does Alexandra's father do in Part IV that startles and scares her?

3. What new job does Alexandra get in Part III?

4. How do J's parents treat J and Alexandra?

5. How does Alexandra's mother feel about her father continuing to call her?

6. What offer does Tim make to Alexandra in Part III?

7. What does Alexandra think is different about the way people in Ithaca give directions?

8. What is Alexandra's new in-person job in Ithaca?

9. What kind of advice does Alexandra ask her sister for?

10. What does Alexandra's seventh grade history teacher say about Chinese people, and how do Alexandra and her mother react?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What stories from Alexandra's family resonate most strongly with her, and why? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

Why does Alexandra really take her trip to China after some months in Ithaca? What do you think she hopes to discover or learn there? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Alexandra experiences conflicted feelings about her work at the tech publication in the early stages of this novel. Write an essay exploring Alexandra's feelings about her work in the beginning of the novel, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 566 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample