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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. Who was Mia's fourth-grade teacher?

2. Who hears Mia playing piano in Chapter 14?

3. What does Mia's mother say about her language skills in Chapter 15 that hurts Mia's feelings?

4. What flowers does Jason give Mia in Chapter 22?

5. What important machine breaks in the hotel during Mia's family's first weeks there?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do Mia's parents refuse to let her help them clean at the motel?

2. How does Mia's class act when Mrs. Douglas introduces China as the topic?

3. What conclusion does Mia come to about the profitability of the Calivista Motel?

4. Why does Mia begin to feel sympathy for Jason Yao in Chapter 8?

5. Why was the memory of the chocolate-scented notebook such a painful one for Mia?

6. What do Mia's interactions with the police in Chapter 21 make her realize?

7. What is Mia's mother's tradition of "taking a picture" at happy or significant moments?

8. Why does Mia stop just before she tells her new fifth-grade class she lives in a motel?

9. What does the security guard from the Topaz Inn propose to Mia?

10. What act of kindness and generosity does Mia do for Uncle Li in Chapter 16?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do readers learn from Yang's extensive Author's Note at the end of this novel? How does reading the Author's Note potentially affect a reader's understanding of the novel and some of its major themes? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Mia remember her first experience meeting her elementary school principal? Why does Mia feel as if she needs to demonstrate her facility with speaking English with the principal at this first meeting? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Rarely, Mia and her parents come across an opportunity to indulge in a small luxury, like a manicure offered by one of the immigrants her parents are hiding at the Calivista. Write an essay explaining how Mia and her parents feel about these small treats, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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