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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 day of the week does Jai work?

2. Who tells Jai's parents about the third child to disappear?

3. What does Jai tell Runu when she tells him not to wait for her to walk home from school together?

4. What does Runu-Didi say that prompts her father to slap her?

5. What is the subject of the Hindu poem Jai has to memorize in Part III?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Jai encounter while working at Duttaram's and how does he think this creature will help with his detective work?

2. Why does Papa hit Runu-Didi in Part IV?

3. What news does Shanti-Chachi bring to Jai's household early in Part III that upsets everyone?

4. What does Runu-Didi tell Jai about why someone is stealing so many children, and how does he react?

5. How does Jai react to the disappearance of Runu-Didi in Part IV?

6. Why does Khadifa resent her brother Kabir in Part IV?

7. In the section in Part III that explains what happened to Aanchal, what made her very uncomfortable on the night she disappeared?

8. Why is Aanchal's mobile phone of such interest to her family and to Jai, Pari, and Faiz?

9. Why are Jai's and Runu-Didi's parents angry with them towards the end of Part III?

10. Why is Papa increasingly frustrated with Jai in Part IV?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do Jai's Ma and Papa change over the course of the novel - especially in the wake of the disappearance of their daughter Runu? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How would you describe Anappara's tone in her characterization of the main child characters - Jai, Pari, and Faiz? Why do you think Anappara chose to inject such humor and resourcefulness into these characters' personalities? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Seen through Jai's eyes, there are still many unanswered questions about the motives and aftermath of the kidnappings and of the confessed perpetrator, Varun. Why do you think Anappara maintains this ambiguity concerning the details of the kidnappings and suspected murders? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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