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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 word refers to any person or animal that is generally despised or avoided?

2. What is the name of Trey's sister who raises his daughter?

3. What are the names of Kristina's two youngest sons?

4. How old is Autumn in the beginning of the novel?

5. All Autumn knows about her mother in the beginning of the novel is that she once used what drug?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Hunter's character introduced in the novel? What is his family setting like? How does Hunter feel about his parents?

2. How does Summer feel about her father in the beginning of the novel? What is her relationship with her mother like?

3. What are the causes of Autumn's anxiety and insecurity leading up to Thanksgiving in the novel?

4. How has Autumn's childhood affected her current romantic relationship in the novel?

5. What leads up to Autumn's first kiss in the novel? What causes her anxiety before this event?

6. What upsets Autumn about her aunt's evolving relationship with Liam in the novel?

7. Describe Autumn's emotional status in the beginning of the novel. What is the cause of Autumn's feelings of isolation?

8. Who does Summer first become intimate with in the novel? How is this event described?

9. What leads up to Summer's confrontation with Erica in the novel? How do Matt and Kyle react to this confrontation?

10. Describe the character of Cora Shepherd in the novel. How did Autumn come into Cora's custody?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define, analyze and discuss the themes of abandonment and neglect in the novel. What effects have been seen in Kristina's children of their abandonment by their parents? How has their neglect or abandonment affected them differently. How are the older children's experiences better or worse than those of the elder children?

Essay Topic 2

Describe, analyze and discuss the narrative structure of the novel. How is the novel nontraditional in its separation of chapters and in its narrative voice? Is the plot structure traditional or non-traditional? Where does the rising action in the novel take place? Where is the climax?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss examples of symbolism and imagery in the narrative. What does the stranger at the talent show represent to Hunter? What is symbolized by Hunter's infidelity with Leah in the narrative? What does Kristina represent symbolically to each of her children?

(see the answer keys)

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