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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. Max turns the family over to Jim Peterson. What is Jim going to do for them?

2. What is one reason April doesn't like her name (Valerie)?

3. Because they have to stay on at the hotel, April has a tantrum and Jim calls her immature. What does he tell her he will do about the phone?

4. After Jim leaves to arrange a way to break the monotony, April feels guilty. Why?

5. What is the first place Max takes the family?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 1, the narrator, April, tells the reader about her world. What does she tell us about her family?

2. The family is told they will have to become part of the federal relocation plan to protect witnesses whose lives are threatened. How does Max explain how this works?

3. In Chapter 2, what does Max tell April and Lorelei that sets in motion the events that follow?

4. Rita tells the family that they have to get going asap because someone has contacted their grandmother. What happened and why is Rita concerned?

5. After April inspects the yard of her new home in Grove City, she starts to walk. Where does she go and what building does she come across?

6. After the family learns of what happened to Mr. Corrigan at the trial, Max tells them they must go into hiding. What is the reaction of each of the family members?

7. Very quickly, the Corrigans are on their way to the Richmond airport to relocate to Florida. Mrs. Corrigan travels with April and Mr. Corrigan with Bram. April finds herself sharing a seat with someone. Who is it and what does April tell her?

8. The book begins with: "(T)he world as we knew it ended for us on a Tuesday afternoon in May." How does April describe her school day on that Tuesday afternoon in May?

9. Before they leave Norwood, the family meets Jim Peterson, a retired policeman, who is going to stay with the family. At the beginning of Chapter 3, he takes the family to the Mayflower Hotel in Richmond. How does April describe it?

10. After the family gets settled in Florida, life becomes dull. How do the Corrigans pass their time for the next three weeks?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In many novels and other works of fiction, the protagonist has a tragic flaw that has a large impact on the story. Define tragic flaw and give three specific examples of April's tragic flaw. With each example, explain how her actions are detrimental to others.

Essay Topic 2

In this coming of age story, April does reach a level of maturity, as we can see by reading the Epilogue. She has had to make choices that she would not have made as the carefree teen she once was. Give two examples that occur in Chapter 14 that show she must accept reality. Explain how her choices reflect her growing maturity and how these choices are different from those she might have made only a few months before.

Essay Topic 3

The protagonist of a story is not always portrayed in a completely positive light. In many novels, the protagonist makes a change or comes to a realization about some aspect of their life. April is in the process of growing up when she is yanked away from her almost picture-perfect life. How is the role of the protagonist portrayed in Don't Look Behind You? Give at least five examples from the novel that show how April changes over the course of the novel.

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