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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. One night right before the end of the school year Betsy Goodman, Elizabeth Frazer, Mary Nell Fickett, and Lisa Shilling are talking at the Goodman house. What happens right after Mr. Goodman walks into the room?

2. By the end of the school year, when Betsy Goodman or Elizabeth Frazer asks Lisa Shilling a question, how does Lisa usually respond?

3. When Mr. Bernstein eventually intervenes on Lisa Shilling's behalf, he meets with various school teachers but does not involve Principal Jackson. Why not?

4. During a barbecue near the end of the school year, Lisa Shilling physically attacks which major character?

5. As the end of school approaches, Elizabeth Frazer plans to go to Maine, Many Nell Fickett plans to go to Ohio, and Betsy Goodman plans to go to Westbury, New York. Why do these exciting summer plans trouble the girls?

Short Essay Questions

1. Betsy Goodman is watching a television program about a mentally ill (and committed) patient when Lisa Shilling arrives. Why does Lisa's appearance make Betsy uncomfortable?

2. When discussing a movie about mental illness with her friends, Lisa Shilling comments on one particular aspect or scene of the movie that makes her uncomfortable. What is that aspect?

3. Lisa Shilling occasionally talks in a deep, sultry voice with a notable English accent. Betsy Goodman associates this English-sounding Lisa with the dark Lisa. In popular psychology, what type of mental illness would account for this distinction?

4. Cover photographs aside, what narratives clues are there that identify the four protagonists as white?

5. Between Elizabeth Frazer, Mary Nell Fickett, and Betsy Goodman, which character tries the least to understand Lisa Shilling's diagnosis?

6. After Lisa Shilling deliberately walks through a glass window she is hospitalized with fairly serious injuries. She remains in the hospital for at least a few days. Mary Nell Fickett assumes that this suicide attempt necessarily will involve social workers who will force Mr. and Mrs. Shilling to confront Lisa's mental illness. However, this does not occur. Why?

7. The four protagonists have a backyard cookout that ends with Lisa Shilling assaulting Elizabeth Frazer. What leads up to Lisa's assault?

8. Mary Nell Fickett and Betsy Goodman briefly consider inviting Lisa Shilling's younger sister Tracy to their group therapy sessions. They decide against it. Why do they decide against it?

9. Betsy Goodman meets with Mr. Bernstein several times and he explains why he cannot become involved. Yet she continues to turn to him for help. Why does Betsy continue to attempt to rely on Mr. Bernstein?

10. Describe Lisa Shilling's punctuality and dependability.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Elizabeth Frazer was diagnosed with an unspecified but severe mental illness at about age twelve or thirteen. She spent four years committed in an asylum under the care of Dr. Neil Donovan. She then moves to the town of the novel's primary setting and lives there for about a year or perhaps two. Immediately, she is noticed by Lisa Shilling who feels some type of affinity for her because they both somehow share the bond of mental illness. Discuss this strange attraction. Is it credible? How might it arise? Why does Elizabeth not run away from Lisa as representative of a past she herself has struggled with?

Essay Topic 2

The novel presents four teenage girls who begin the year thinking about boys, dating, and sexuality. As the year progresses they think more and more about mental illness and less and less about dating. Discuss elements of sexuality within the novel--why are characters attracted to each other? Is Betsy attracted only to looks? Or does she have a deeper understanding of sexuality? Will she be successful as a married housewife?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the role of gender in the novel--do characters act they way they do because they are male or female? Which characters (if any) don't act like they 'should' for their gender?

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