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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 Sylvie?

2. Why does Sylvie bond with Ruth and Lucille?

3. Where did the sisters' father grow up?

4. How do Lily and Nona try to contact Sylvie?

5. During the flood, what happens when Sylvie goes downstairs?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the girls do to keep Sylvie from going downstairs during the flood?

2. How do Lily and Nona feel about children?

3. What does Ruth do when Sylvie will not come upstairs when the house is flooded?

4. How do Lily and Nona feel about being in Fingerbone and caring for Ruth and Lucille?

5. What story does Sylvie tell during their stay upstairs to escape the flood waters? How do Ruth and Lucille react?

6. What does the narrator say about her grandfather's youth in the first chapter?

7. How do you think the girls might be feeling when they figure out their Aunts Lily and Nona don't want them?

8. What are the attitudes of Ruth and Lucille towards Sylvie's eccentricities?

9. What do the girls know about Sylvie after one day in the house?

10. What do the girls see at the lake while skipping school?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do you think would have happened to Ruth and Lucille if they had been born in 1995 instead in the late 1940's or early 1950's? How would that differ from what happened to them in the book?

Essay Topic 2

Sylvie comes home after Lucille yelled at her with huckleberries and made pancakes for the girls. Why do you think she did this?

Essay Topic 3

Do you think Sylvie's relationship with the girls is similar to their mother's relationship with them? Use examples from the book to illustrate your opinion.

(see the answer keys)

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