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. What is one of Henry's first jobs in Pinewood before he gets married?

2. Why does Sylvia tell Marcus she does not want to travel in Chapter 9?

3. What bothers Don about Sasha?

4. What does Sylvia tell Devon that JJ told her about a memory from their youth?

5. What was JJ's grandmother's name?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What kinds of things does Sylvia encourage Marcus to do?

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

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

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

6. Who is the first person Ava confides in when she finds out Henry has a son he has never told her about?

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

8. How does Sylvia feel about JJ Ferguson?

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

10. How does Sylvia feel about her son in-law, Henry?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Of all the characters in the novel, which character or characters seem to have achieved the greatest degree of peace and contentment by the end? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay exploring why Ava goes to the reservoir with JJ in Chapter 34 and what realization she comes to after immersing herself in the water.

Essay Topic 3

Why do you think Sylvia continues to speak with, and eventually forms a bond with, Marcus, even though she has never met him in person and had no previous relationship with him before he randomly dialed her number from jail?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 702 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample