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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 is the most significant mystery in Penny's life?

2. Whose order is the basis for jokes among Penny and her co-workers?

3. What does Mr. Mulligan do at the end of his date with Penny's mother (Eleanor) that disappoints Penny?

4. Whose house grounds were supposed to be stashed with money?

5. Who is Penny's mother laughing and talking with at the door when Penny awakens at the beginning of Chapter 7?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to the text in the first couple of chapters in the book, why does Penny's maternal grandmother, Me-me, do most of the cooking for Penny and her mother?

2. According to the text in Chapter 3 of the book, how does a large dog interfere with Frankie and Penny's attempt to deliver meat to Mrs. Morelli?

3. Based on the narrative in Chapter 3 of the book, can it be said that Penny's Uncle Ralphie is more generous than her Aunt Fulvia?

4. Based on the narrative in the first chapter of the book, how are Penny and her Uncle Dominic "different" from other baseball fans in their community?

5. Based on the narrative in the first two chapters of the book, can Penny's Uncle Dominic be considered to be eccentric?

6. According to the text in Chapter 3 of the book, are any signs visible signs of what may be spousal abuse that Frankie and Penny detect while making a delivery stop at Mrs. Giaquinto's house and speaking with her briefly?

7. According to the narrative in the sixth chapter of the book, can Sunday dinners at Penny's paternal grandmother's (Nonny's) house be described as being Italian-themed?

8. According to the text in Chapters 4 and 5 of the book, what action by Penny's mother leads Penny to believe that her mother is now in a happier mood than Penny has ever known her to be?

9. According to the text in Chapters 7 and 8, what is discussed between Frankie and Penny while they are in the basement helping Nonny with the laundry?

10. Based on the text of Chapters 4 and 5 of the book, how does Me-me try to fix Penny's black lacquer-related hair problems?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

As Penny begins her job at Falucci's Market, we meet Uncle Ralphie and Aunt Fulvia - a married couple who apparently do not see eye to eye in the area of finances. Specifically, what are the differences between them? Are either one of them justified in the position that they uphold? Who is right? Who would you side with and why? Include text and/or paraphrase scenarios from the book to support your position.

Essay Topic 2

Looking at Penny's life throughout the book, and how relatives from both sides of her family - that of her father, and that of her mother - play important roles in her life, can it be said that a village and not a pair of conventional parents helped raise Penny? Cite text and/or paraphrase scenarios from the book to support your position.

Essay Topic 3

Family togetherness is an apparent overall theme that is illustrated throughout Penny from Heaven. For example, even though Penny's father is deceased, his side of the family still includes Penny in their lives, and Penny does not seem to resist including them in hers. Explain how Penny's father's family (the Faluccis) maintain a familial-type closeness with Penny; and how she shows that although her father is gone, his family - the Faluccis remain very much a part of her life.

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