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. According to Vanessa on page 319, every aspect of her life is laced with what?

2. As Vanessa heads into her senior year of college, with whom does she begin living?

3. What does Taylor Birch do for a living?

4. According to Vanessa on page 270, she has become a voracious consumer of what type of stories?

5. How does Vanessa feel on page 250, after learning of Strane’s emails about her to the administration of Browick?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens during the interaction between Strane and Plough?

2. How does Vanessa rationalize Strane’s actions on page 260?

3. How does Jo keep Vanessa in the present moment, as explained on page 369?

4. What is Vanessa’s opinion of her teenage self? How does Ruby see a teenage Vanessa, as she explains on page 265?

5. Where do Vanessa and Jo go together? What are both Vanessa and Jo learning to embrace?

6. How does Vanessa feel regarding her impending graduation from college? What does Strane say about it on page 270?

7. What does Vanessa tell Ruby about the extent of her control over Strane on page 319? What does Ruby say in response?

8. Who are Jade and Charley and what impact do they have on Vanessa?

9. How does Vanessa’s relationship with Strane change after her graduation from college? To what can the reader attribute such change?

10. How does Strane react to his encounter with Plough? How does Vanessa react to it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Appearances in My Dark Vanessa can be deceiving. How do appearances differ from reality in this novel? Discuss three characters, objects, or situations and how this idea applies to each.

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 role of power is a major theme of My Dark Vanessa. Choose three situations in which this theme is illustrated. Explain how each situation illustrates the theme of power, and evaluate what the author is trying to say about this subject.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 729 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample