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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 does Gabi's mother giver her for her birthday?

2. What does Tia Bertha tell Gabi about writing?

3. What does Gabi's father wear in his coffin?

4. What is one of the things that was in the package Gabi received in the mail after Christmas?

5. Who moves in with Gabi's family to help with her new infant brother?

Short Essay Questions

1. What plans does Gabi have to cancel in order to work on poetry with Martin in December?

2. What effect does Gabi's brother's behavioral problems have on Gabi's mother?

3. How does Gabi's Christmas with her family go?

4. In March, what does Martin suggest might help Gabi with her depression?

5. What does Ian do that surprises Gabi when she gets to his house early for their group work?

6. What happens to Gabi's dad right after Christmas?

7. What happens between Martin and Gabi as Martin drops Gabi off at her house after their first trip to The Grind Effect in January?

8. How does Gabi know that Beto is having a hard time with their father's death?

9. How does Gabi feel about her poetry study-date with Martin in December?

10. What does Georgina get in trouble for in February?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay comparing and contrasting how Gabi and Beto each approach and process their father's death.

Essay Topic 2

Poetry and literature are powerful influences on Gabi over the course of the novel. Specifically, she begins to realize that although some writers she likes have radically different racial and cultural backgrounds from her, she connects strongly with their ideas, themes and styles. Choose at least two writers Gabi mentions and write an essay exploring the writers' influences on Gabi's view of the world.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring how Gabi feels about her light skin color and how it relates to her perceptions of her own heritage, using specific examples from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 640 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample