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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 club does Vanessa join during her sophomore year of high school?

2. What is the name of Vanessa’s therapist, as revealed on page 8?

3. What is the first name of Mr. Strane, the teacher who is being accused of assault at the start of the novel?

4. What general safety tool is distributed to the female students on page 16?

5. How does Strane’s behavior reflect an agitated state of mind on page 83?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to Strane following Vanessa’s conversation with Jenny, what would happen to Vanessa if anyone found out about their affair?

2. Who is Ruby and what does she and Vanessa discuss about abusers on page 9?

3. Whose poetry does Strane give Vanessa to read while she is still his student? What is the effect of this poetry on Vanessa?

4. What happens at the Halloween dance on page 62?

5. What novel does Strane give Vanessa and what effect does it have on Vanessa?

6. Why does Ms. Thompson email Strane? How does Vanessa discover this email?

7. Who writes a letter to the board regarding the relationship between Vanessa and Strane? What is the initial result of this letter?

8. Who is Dolores Haze and what does she represent to Vanessa, as explained on page 76?

9. What does Vanessa indicate about her memories involving Strane on page 7?

10. What indications are given to the reader that illustrate Vanessa’s lack of agency during her first sexual encounter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay explaining the significance of the title of the novel, My Dark Vanessa. How does the title reflect the main characters? How does the title reflect the novel’s themes and conflicts? How does the title’s meaning change over the course of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the author’s choice to tell this story by using the first-person perspective. How does viewing the action through a first-person perspective affect the story? How would the novel change if the story was told through the third person?

Essay Topic 3

What do you think the future has in store for Vanessa and Jo after the close of the novel? Predict Vanessa’s future based on her thoughts and actions over the course of the novel as well as the growth she experiences at the end.

(see the answer keys)

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