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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. Who runs the restaurant Don has started frequenting in Chapter 12?

2. What is the name of the website Ava frequents in Chapter 11?

3. Where does Sylvia meet JJ for the first time at the start of Chapter 10?

4. What is one thing Jonnie teaches Don to do that he really likes?

5. What does Carrie tell Henry in Chapter 17 that upsets him?

Short Essay Questions

1. Apart from the people in the online chat room, who is the first person Ava tells she is pregnant in Chapter 15?

2. Why does Sylvia resist the idea of going on a cruise with her sister Lana?

3. What is the significance of Brushy Mountain Road to residents of Pinewood, North Carolina?

4. What happens between Henry and the fortune-teller in New Orleans in Chapter 5?

5. How does Don feel about Jonnie's little girl, Sasha?

6. What problem has Ava been struggling with for years that becomes apparent in Chapter 3?

7. What name does JJ tell Sylvia he goes by now in Chapter 10?

8. How does Ava react to seeing Henry's son for the first time when she comes across him in Walmart in Chapter 15?

9. What was the original purpose of Development Drive, where Sylvia's house is?

10. What has happened to the town of Pinewood in recent years?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay exploring why JJ Ferguson seems to feel such strong positive emotions towards a town - Pinewood - where he experienced such tragedy and misery.

Essay Topic 2

When did you first realize what had really happened to Devon? Write an essay exploring why Watts might have chosen to reveal Devon's fate so late in the novel. Cite specific references to the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the meaning of Ava's and Henry's reconciliation at the novel's conclusion. Has Henry achieved redemption? Cite specific references to the text in your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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