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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 book does Virginia leave on Hudes's piano bench in Chapter 18?

2. What arrives in Washington DC in October 1992?

3. In Chapter 18, who is Hudes's new sister?

4. Who does the record producer compare Hudes's sound to?

5. What does Sharon once tell Hudes she does not want to hear about at all?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Abuela move her family from New York to Philadelphia?

2. In Chapter 16, what happens to Hudes's high school AIDS quilt after her class leaves?

3. Why do Abuela and her husband split up?

4. In Chapter 30, what does Hudes's mother encourage her to do professionally and why?

5. In Chapter 23, how does Hudes feel about going to Yale?

6. In Chapter 29, what does Hudes pursue after college?

7. In Chapter 21, what does Hudes once do with her mother's language that she now regrets?

8. In Chapter 27, why does Hudes think of Nuchi so often?

9. In Chapter 18, what big change happens in Hudes's family?

10. In Chapter 25, what does Hudes do for the first time that her family comes to support?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Hudes feel about her stepmother Sharon when she and Hudes's father marry, and how do her feelings towards Sharon change over the course of the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Hudes describe her trance-like experiences while writing? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Why does Hudes decide to pursue a career in writing rather than music? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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