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. With whom does Ayinde go for a photo shoot?

2. When Richard gets upset that Julian is taking up his space in his and Ayinde's bed, who ends up leaving the bed to sleep elsewhere?

3. What profession does Becky's husband have?

4. Lia has 27 emails from someone and deletes them without looking at them. Who is she ignoring?

5. What did the couch remind Kelly of?

Short Essay Questions

1. Kelly jokes, "It takes a village to feed my child." What does this mean?

2. Why does Richard, Ayinde's husband, appear to be ready to go on another trip?

3. How does Ayinde feel about her mother sending her the book Priscilla Prewitt's Baby Success?

4. Why is Becky so devastated that the doctor wants to perform a c-section?

5. "April Lia" opens with Lia sitting on a park bench wanting to be invisible. Why does Lia want to be invisible?

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

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

8. What constitutes Lia's inability to come to grips with her baby's death?

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. How does Lia's flight back to LA bring out the thought, "You can't go home again'?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Both Ayinde and Kelly consider divorce at some point during the story. Ayinde thinks of a chapter from Baby Success that focuses on babies as the ones that really matter and that babies do better with a mommy and daddy under the same roof. Do you agree with this advice? Why / why not? Should Ayinde have patched things up with Richard? Why / why not? Do you think either Kelly or Ayinde should have followed through with a divorce? Why / why not?

Essay Topic 2

Many characters in the story have experienced a loss. Choose one loss. Tell about this loss and how it affected the character.

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 751 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample