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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. Where is Summer told she is moving to live with a foster family after her father's arrest?

2. Who moves into Hunter's family home, wreaking havoc on everything and everyone in the novel?

3. Methamphetamine is dispensed in the United States under what trademark name?

4. Where does Hunter run into his biological father?

5. Hunter learns that his biological grandfather has been arrested again for what after Nikki has left him?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Summer's experiences with each of her parents like on Thanksgiving in the novel? What does she discover about her family?

2. How does Summer feel about her decision to run away from her foster home in the novel? Why?

3. What leads Autumn to begin drinking in the novel? Where does this first show to be a problem?

4. How does Autumn feel about the wedding planning for her aunt after Thanksgiving in the novel? Who does she invite over while her aunt is away?

5. Where does Kyle spend Thanksgiving in the novel? How does Summer feel about his absence?

6. What is the reader left wondering after Hunter's first interaction with his potential biological father in the novel?

7. Who advises Hunter to let his obsession with his biological father go in the novel? What does he do instead?

8. What confrontations does Summer have with her mother and father after her father spends the weekend in jail in the novel?

9. What leads to the greatest increase in instability for Summer's character in the novel? How does she feel about her situation?

10. What does Hunter learn from Brendan about his past in the novel? How has Brendan changed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of sexual abuse in the novel. Which characters have been abused and by whom? Who is to blame for the abuse that Kristina's children have suffered and why? In what ways did Kristina herself face sexual abuse?

Essay Topic 2

Define and discuss the motif of journeys in the novel. What characters take a physical journey during the holidays? What does each of these journeys represent symbolically and psychologically for the characters?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss Autumn's relationship with her father after they have first met. How does Trey's presence inspire Autumn to meet her mother? Is this meeting a positive or negative thing for Autumn's development? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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