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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. When Monica sees Marshall on the morning after their adventure in the woods, what has changed about his appearance?

2. What does Chad tell a story about at the lunch table?

3. Why does Marshall temporarily leave Tamaya alone in the woods?

4. When Marshall gets in trouble, what does he say that makes his parents even angrier at him?

5. What is the name of the scientist who invented the product made at SunRay Farms?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the changes that occur in Tamaya's rash overnight in Chapter 12.

2. Describe how Marshall's attitude toward Tamaya has changed over the years.

3. When other students speak up for Marshall during Mrs. Thaxton's questioning, what does this reveal about the situation with Chad turning everyone against Marshall?

4. What are some of the consequences Marshall suffers at school because of Chad's bullying?

5. When he is lying away on the night after Chad's attack, what does Marshall decide is his best hope for a final ending to the situation with Chad?

6. Why has Chad come to Woodridge Academy?

7. What ideas are conveyed by the description of the history of the building Woodridge Academy is housed in?

8. What does Tamaya's response to the balloon writing prompt demonstrate about her as a person?

9. What advice of Ms. Filbert's does Tamaya think about as she is about to go into the woods, and why does she think about it?

10. Why does Marshall blame his parents for his problems with Chad?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One effect of having multiple perspectives in a novel is that the reader gets to see events and characters from more than one perspective. Think of an event or character that seems one way when presented from either Marshall's or Tamaya's perspective but that you understand differently when the same event or character is then presented from the other character's perspective. Explain how this event or character is presented first and then show how the reader's understanding is enhanced or changed when the same event or character is seen from the perspective of a different character. Support your ideas with evidence from the text, and remember that if you use quoted evidence, this should be cited in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

What kind of a person is Jonathan Fitzman? Is he a villain in this novel, or is his character more complicated than this? How do his intentions match up with his actions and their results? How well does he do at taking responsibility for his actions? Write an essay in which you evaluate his character and show how details and language from throughout the novel reveal what kind of a person Fitzman is. If you use quoted evidence, remember to cite it in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

What kind of a person is Marshall? What elements of direct and indirect characterization convey this to the reader? How does Sachar gradually shift the reader's understanding of this character throughout the course of the book? Write an essay that makes a claim about the impression that is created by the reader's first introduction to Marshall, in Chapters 1-3, and how this impression changes beginning with Chapter 4. Offer evidence to support your observations that is drawn from both direct and indirect sources of characterization throughout the book.

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