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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 does Bodie send an extra Mother's Day card to?

2. Who does Bodie accuse when she says, “If Thalia was having trouble with an older guy, the older guy was you” (95)?

3. What was Thalia wearing when she died?

4. Where does Dane live?

5. Which character would set the microwave to run with nothing inside of it?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the beginning of Bodie's relationship with Jerome differ from the start of her relationship with Yahav?

2. Why did Jerome say he ha been "canceled"?

3. What was unique about the swimsuit Thalia was wearing when she died?

4. How does Bodie describe Sheila Evans?

5. What kind of relationship does Bodie have with Yahav?

6. What conflict does Bodie face surrounding Rita Hayworth?

7. Why did investigators start to believe that Thalia may have been using drugs?

8. How did Bodie find out that Thalia had been killed?

9. Describe the video the narrator watches in Chapter 1.

10. In the chapter speculating about Puja being the suspect in Thalia's murder, how does Thalia die?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the significance of dividing this novel into two parts? Compare and contrast both parts of the text. What has changed in the second part? Is the tone different? How so?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, several people ask Bodie, "Who's watching your kids?" What is the significance of this question? Address three uses of this question in the text.

Essay Topic 3

While much of this text focuses on sexism and violence against women, Makkai also touches on racism. For example, Bodie says, "I certainly knew more about how rage gets ascribed to Black men" (80). What points does Makkai make about racism? How does Makkai broach this sensitive topic, and is it effective?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 703 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample