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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 is the only color of clothes Plum wears at the time of the novel's beginning?

2. When Verena asks Plum what would happen if she is already living her real life and will never lose weight, what is Plum's reply?

3. What type of surgery do Julia and her sisters undergo as they each reach their 21st birthdays?

4. For what magazine had Leeta worked before being hired as Julia's assistant?

5. What quality does Plum say has always defined her?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Plum mean when she says that it takes her awhile to "fully inhabit" (83) her New York life again after she finishes speaking to her mother on the phone?

2. How does the terrorist organization known as Jennifer claim responsibility for the murders of Michael Simmons and Davis Green?

3. How does Janine's outburst at the Baptist Diet meeting foreshadow Plum's own coming changes?

4. Discuss the significance of Plum's clothing organization choices in the first part of the novel.

5. What question does Julia ask when she writes to Plum under the guise of being a teenage fan of Kitty's and what is the result of her question?

6. What is the significance of the news story about Jayson Fox, the young rap star from Los Angeles?

7. The night before the murders of Michael Simmons and Davis Green, Dr. Ormond Brown receives an email. What does the email contain and what is the author's implication about who has sent it?

8. What information does Julia reveal about Leeta during her first meeting with Plum?

9. What is the identifying feature of Leeta's appearance?

10. What act does Dr. Ormond Brown believe has precipitated the murders of Michael Simmons and Davis Green?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the function of Verena's character within the novel? Discuss the characterization methods used by the author in depicting Verena and include in your discussion the reasons that the author portrays her in these particular ways.

Essay Topic 2

What is the author's message regarding motherhood and what themes does the author employ in order to send these messages to the reader?

Essay Topic 3

How is the topic of discovery treated within the novel and how does its treatment relate to the book's repeated allusions to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland?

(see the answer keys)

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