View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Lia give Becky while she is walking with Ava trying to calm her?

2. Who does Kelly ask Steve to call when she can't calm Oliver?

3. Kelly finds out that Steve wants to change careers. What does he want to be?

4. What makes Ayinde say "Ouch"?

5. What does Lia tell her mother when she asks, "What's going on?"

Short Essay Questions

1. What are some things that have shaped the way Kelly is today?

2. What changes Kelly's almost perfect world to a world of fear and panic in "June Kelly"?

3. Why does Kelly panic when she finds out that Steve wants to become a teacher?

4. Why is Becky not happy with her mother-in-law moving to Philadelphia?

5. How does Weiner paint Mimi in the chapter "September Becky"?

6. How does the "smelly monstrosity of a couch that the neighbor was throwing away" give Kelly flashbacks of her childhood?

7. Why is the thought of having intercourse so hard for Kelly?

8. What is the symbolism of Mimi wearing a white dress to Becky and Andrew's wedding?

9. Ayinde is experiencing pain and suffering when first introduced in "April Ayinde". Usually Ayinde is one that appears to have it all. In what ways is Ayinde experiencing pain and suffering?

10. Jennifer Weiner paints a picture of motherhood in the opening scene of "August Becky." How is this picture humorous?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Lia, Ayinde, Becky, and Kelly all have difficult relationships with their mothers and mothers-in-law. Think about how these relationships affect them and the bonds they develop with their babies. For example, Ayinde clearly wants to parent her children differently than the way she was raised, however, she also wants to live up to her mother's expectations by taking the book Baby Success seriously. How does Ayinde deal with balancing these two sides and will it affect Ayinde's relationship with Julian? How? Also, how do Ayinde's childhood memories affect the relationship with Julian?

Essay Topic 2

Three of the main characters all take a different approach to raising their children. Kelly takes the professional route and keeps track of everything on spreadsheets, Ayinde follows the book Baby Success, and Becky has a laid back approach. How do these particular strategies work out for them? If an approach does not seem to work out for them, what other approach do you think they should try and why? Does any one approach seem to work better than the others?

Essay Topic 3

Having a baby brought about many changes in the friends' sense of self. Choose one of the friends and describe in detail, using examples from the story, how their sense of self changed.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 843 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample