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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. How does Vanessa feel on page 59?

3. What does Vanessa tell her ex-boyfriend about the allegations against Strane?

4. Where do the sophomores take a field trip in the winter of Vanessa’s sophomore year?

5. According to Vanessa on page 9, why are abusers able to hide?

Short Essay Questions

1. What early interactions between Vanessa and Strane suggest that he is grooming her for abuse? What is the effect of these actions on Vanessa?

2. Who is Jenny and what does the reader learn about her (and subsequently about Vanessa) on page 12?

3. Who speaks with Vanessa during the field trip to Quebec and what does this person tell her?

4. Why does Jenny approach Vanessa in the winter of their sophomore year? How does Vanessa respond?

5. What psychological phenomenon happens to Vanessa when Strane first initiates physical contact on page 45?

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

7. What does Vanessa tell her mother about Jacob on page 135, and how does her mother respond?

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

9. Why does Strane come to see Vanessa on page 54? What does Vanessa experience psychologically on page 56?

10. What happens to Vanessa psychologically during her first kiss with Strane on page 83?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay defining victimhood from the perspective of Vanessa. What does it mean to be a victim, according to Vanessa? How do the choices she makes reflect these values?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the importance of Ruby and Jo to the novel. Despite the fact that they are not major characters, they have a powerful impact on Vanessa and her path toward healing. Discuss the impact of these characters on Vanessa as well as on the novel’s plot and themes.

Essay Topic 3

The characters in My Dark Vanessa all highlight the idea the past is never truly past. Choose three characters and explain how each illustrates this idea, using textual evidence to support your claims.

(see the answer keys)

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