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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who answers the door when Frank and Jake knock on the O'Keefes' door?
(a) Lise.
(b) Danny's mother.
(c) Ruth.
(d) Warren Redstone.

2. Who prevents Morris Engdahl from hurting Frank on the Fourth of July?
(a) Jake.
(b) Ariel.
(c) Warren Redstone.
(d) Nathan.

3. What does Morris Engdahl offer as the alibi proving his innocence concerning Ariel's disappearance?
(a) He was with his girlfriend in an abandoned building all night.
(b) He was working for Lise cleaning her house all night.
(c) He was home getting drunk with his father all night.
(d) He was working on his car with another mechanic all night.

4. Why does Frank find it odd that upon his return to the house from Sibley Park, Ruth and Gus are sitting at the kitchen table together?
(a) Because Gus has never liked Ruth.
(b) Because Gus knows of Nathan's jealousy and thus avoids Ruth at all costs.
(c) Because Ruth has never liked Gus.
(d) Because Ruth knows of Nathan's jealousy and thus avoids Gus at all costs.

5. What object does Ruth want Frank to put on Axel's windshield?
(a) A hundred dollar bill.
(b) A picture of Ariel.
(c) An old parking ticket.
(d) A letter.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does Nathan go after Ruth storms off in anger about what Nathan is reading?

2. For what purpose does Nathan give Frank and Jake money when he goes to talk to Ruth?

3. What does Ruth tell Frank about God when they go on a walk to the river together?

4. What kind of weekly appointment does Jake have in Mankato?

5. Jake asks Frank what they should do in order to deal with their grief and Frank says he has an idea but that Jake may not like it. What is Frank's idea?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what ways are the complicated nature of the grief cycle demonstrated to the reader through the experiences of Frank and Jake?

2. What is the significance of how Frank spends the money he has been saving up from the yard work he does for his grandfather?

3. Why is it ironic that Ruth refuses to attend the New Bremen church service at which Nathan preaches right after Ariel's dead body is found?

4. Besides the sheriff's mention of Morris Engdahl, what happens to prompt Frank to tell the sheriff about Morris Engdahl's dislike of Ariel?

5. What revelations does the sheriff communicate to Nathan when they meet in Nathan's office at the church and who becomes a suspect as a result of these revelations?

6. Who acts as the go-between, bringing news back and forth between the police station and the Drum family and how does this role fit the character's relationship to the family?

7. What is the cause of Lise's heightened anxiety and frantic behavior when Nathan goes to Emil's house to talk to Ruth?

8. What causes Ruth to get less and less hopeful about Ariel's safe return as phone calls continue to stream into their home?

9. How does Warren Redstone play a role in the altercation between Frank and Morris Engdahl?

10. When Frank and Jake try to overhear yet another conversation at Emil's and Lise's house, their plan is thwarted. What is the cause of their plan failing?

(see the answer keys)

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