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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 kind of literature did Miah and his mother read at the library, when he was little?

2. What does Ellie think to herself regarding her relationship with Jeremiah at the end of Chapter 15?

3. In Chapter 12, what does Miah’s father want him to do?

4. What can Ellie not believe about Brooklyn?

5. What does one woman mention, in Chapter 12, when Miah is introduced?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do both Miah and his father say about the afterlife?

2. How does Miah's father respond when Miah tells him he spends his weekends in Manhattan with his Percy friends?

3. How does Ellie feel when she finds Jeremiah in the hallway?

4. How does Ellie describe her first visit to Brooklyn?

5. What realization does Miah come to regarding his father, when he enters his father's home in this section (Chapters 11-15)?

6. What upsets Ellie as she and Miah huddle outside the library?

7. What does Miah's father say happened to his relationship with Nelia?

8. How does Ellie react when her mother finds out she skipped math class?

9. What takes place under the maple tree in Central Park?

10. What are the memories Miah has of the library on Fifth Avenue?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The parents of the main characters have different reactions towards the two main characters having love interests. What are their various reactions? Should Ellie and Jeremiah be concerned to introduce each other to their families? Why or why not? Do the reactions of the parents surprise you? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Although If You Come Softly was published in 1998, how is it relevant to today? What elements of this book are timeless? How might this book stand the test of time? Why?

Essay Topic 3

This novel is a tragedy much like “Romeo and Juliet” and “West Side Story.” Were you aware of this as you read the novel? Why or why not? Were you surprised when Miah was killed? Why or why not? Are you satisfied with this novel as a modern take on a classic tale? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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