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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 kind of a class does Melissa take Blake to in Chapter 5?

2. What game does Ria propose playing with Damian's and Stephanie's children?

3. Who is Damian's father?

4. What does Ria accuse Melissa of doing with her things in Chapter 3?

5. What does Damian suggest to Michael in Chapter 7 might be another source of his relationship troubles?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mrs. Jackson need help in Chapter 3?

2. At Ria's school's cultural night, who steals the show?

3. Why is Michael so late to his engagement with Ria in Chapter 6?

4. What game does Ria want to play with Damian's and Stephanie's children in Chapter 3?

5. What grief is Damian dealing with in Chapter 2?

6. When do both Michael and Melissa realize their date is a total disaster in Chapter 7?

7. What large project does the former occupant of Melissa and Michael's house undertake just before his marriage falls apart?

8. What game does Michael play on the bus on his work commute?

9. What does Hazel offer for Melissa in order to try to help her and Michael?

10. Before having her second child, where did Melissa work and what did she do?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing the importance of music, and especially the music of John Legend, as a means for Michael to make sense of his feelings about his relationship with Melissa.

Essay Topic 2

What is the significance of the disclosure by the musician Jill Scott in Chapter 7, an artist both Michael and Melissa like from the early days of their relationship, that she has recently gotten divorced? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 3

How does Evans use descriptions of sex and sexual intimacy between characters to convey a sense of the strength and weaknesses in sets of relationships in this novel? Write an essay explaining your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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