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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. Why is Edward so upset on New Year's Day in Part III?

2. What does Besa ask Edward that deeply embarrasses him in Part IV?

3. What does Mark say to Veronica as a direct pass at her?

4. What is Lacey's favorite movie?

5. Who is the first letter Shay reads to Edward from?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who gives Edward and John a ride away from the hearing and how does this person interact with Edward?

2. What does Jordan notice about Mark and Veronica that almost no one else on the plane seems to have noticed?

3. What does Edward do instead of partaking in gym class in Part III, and why?

4. What is Mark Lassio's main focus on the flight?

5. In Part IV, what starts to happen on the airplane just around the time Crispin Cox is pronounced dead?

6. In Part IV, what does Lacey tell Edward about his mother that he had not known before?

7. What does Edward confess to Shay that he thinks the duffel bags of letters he finds in his uncle's garage could be?

8. What secret does Jordan have from everyone else in his family?

9. Why are Lacey and John so panicked about Edward's health and mental state in Part III?

10. In Part IV, what does Louisa Cox give as a gift to Edward and what does she ask of him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Napolitano's choice to alternate between the present day and the events of the day of the plane crash affect the reader's experience of this novel and the reader's understanding of the characters' development? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing Napolitano's handling of the theme of trauma. How does Edward work through his trauma, and how do other characters in the novel, both his age and older, both loved ones and strangers, help him through the process?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing Napolitano's treatment of the theme of guilt, particularly as expressed by the wife of the co-pilot whose mistakes were responsible for the plane crash and through Edward's feelings as the sole survivor of the tragedy.

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