View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the name of Lily's favorite movie star, whom she is teased mercilessly for admiring?
(a) Claudette Colbert.
(b) Barbara Stanwyck.
(c) Greta Garbo.
(d) Mary Pickford.

2. Which of the following characters wake up the morning after Kathleen's death with blood in her slippers?
(a) Materia.
(b) Lily.
(c) Mercedes.
(d) Frances.

3. Who found the dead baby and tried to resuscitate him?
(a) Frances.
(b) James.
(c) Lily.
(d) Mercedes.

4. Why does the Frye family say their daughter can no longer play with Mercedes?
(a) Because of James's behavior in town.
(b) Because of the rumors of how Kathleen died.
(c) Because they heard Materia was mentally unstable.
(d) Because the Piper family is too poor.

5. In what room of the house did Mumma die?
(a) In the bedroom.
(b) In the bathroom.
(c) In the living room.
(d) In the kitchen.

6. Who is the narrator of the novel when the reader learns about Materia's funeral?
(a) Kathleen.
(b) James.
(c) Mercedes.
(d) Frances.

7. What is significant about Daddy's hair in the photograph the narrator describes in the prologue?
(a) It has grown in patchy in parts and bald in others.
(b) It is shaved.
(c) It is bleached blonde.
(d) It is braided.

8. What is the name of the city where the Piper family lives?
(a) New Waterford.
(b) Vancouver.
(c) West Minster.
(d) Alabaster Cove.

9. What classic fairy tale does the narrator reference when describing Mumma's death?
(a) The Prince and the Pauper.
(b) Hansel and Gretel.
(c) Sleeping Beauty.
(d) The Princess and the Pea.

10. Which of the following Piper women waits hopefully everyday for James's death notice to arrive?
(a) Materia.
(b) Frances.
(c) Mercedes.
(d) Kathleen.

11. How does Kathleen react when her father is deployed overseas?
(a) She stops praying.
(b) She stops singing.
(c) She stops playing the piano.
(d) She stops eating.

12. How does Materia cope with the death of her baby?
(a) She scrubs the house.
(b) She drinks a bottle of whiskey.
(c) She locks herself in the bedroom and prays.
(d) She begins smoking and swearing.

13. Where does James lock up Materia, after discovering Kathleen's dead body?
(a) In the attic.
(b) In the coal cellar.
(c) In the stove room.
(d) In the car garage.

14. How old was Other Lily when she died?
(a) One year.
(b) One day.
(c) One week.
(d) One month.

15. Why did Frances bring the new baby down to the river where he died?
(a) To bathe him.
(b) To give him a drink.
(c) To teach him how to swim.
(d) To baptize him.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the crowd react to Kathleen during her first recital performance?

2. How does Kathleen's accompanist feel about Kathleen's voice?

3. What is the name of the school Kathleen was enrolled in as a child?

4. What rushes from Ambrose's mouth during Lily's nightmares?

5. Who acts as the go-between for Materia and her mother during the time she and her family live in Sydney?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 504 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample