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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 does Lauren plan to do for Amy?

2. Where is the man that Keith steals from on the freeway headed?

3. What does Lauren want to call the emergency packs?

4. How is Keith killed?

5. What does Keith give to Lauren on her birthday?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do Paints set fire to the park?

2. Why doesn't Bankole want to bury the bones initially?

3. Why doesn't Zahra and Lauren like each other back in the neighborhood?

4. What is the difference between Lauren's and Joanne's bedrooms?

5. What are the "rules" of the group that Lauren shares with Grayson?

6. What's causing the chaos after the earthquake?

7. What is "prodigy" according to the opening passage of the book?

8. Why does Lauren's dad return to Robledo?

9. What does Emery tell Lauren about sharers having children?

10. Why doesn't anyone bother calling the fire department after the fire?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the affects of racial differences in the novel. Does race seem to matter more or less than in the America Butler describes than it does now?

Essay Topic 2

Lauren has a dream in the first chapter about flying and facing a major obstacle. Describe this dream, and then explain its symbolism in the context of the novel. What themes does this dream foreshadow?

Essay Topic 3

Violence is presented almost neutrally in this novel. Sometimes it is very stark and cruel and other times it seems as a necessary means to an end. Describe two examples of each view of violence; as a senseless tragedy or as necessary for progress. Explain whether or not you think that the violence perpetrated by Lauren and her group is necessary.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 622 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample