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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 Frankie know that he has to do?

2. Whom of the following painted Penny's room in anticipation of her return home from the hospital?

3. Which of the following couples are paid a visit by Me-me and Pop-pop on the same day that Frankie invites Penny to go to the public pool?

4. What, to Penny's surprise, does she find that she misses while she is in the hospital?

5. What does Aunt Gina do for Penny upon her return home from the hospital?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to the narrative in Chapter 17 of the book, how do Penny's relatives make her feel special while she is in the hospital?

2. According to the narrative in Chapter 20 of the book, do any new beings enter Penny's life after she returns home from the hospital?

3. According to the text in Chapter 16 of the book, how is Penny distracted to the point that she injures her arm while putting the laundry through the wringer of the washing machine in Nonny's basement?

4. Based on the text in Chapter 18, what does Penny learn from Frankie in relation to Uncle Dominic's whereabouts during her stay in the hospital?

5. Based on the narrative in Chapter 14 of the book, why has Frankie decided to run to Penny's house and hide there?

6. According to the text in Chapter 13 of the book, what normal events take place in Penny's life on her birthday?

7. According to the text in the twelfth chapter of the book, how does Uncle Dominic resolve the situations that Uncle Benny gets into as family members are attempting to make their way to and from Aunt Concetta's wake?

8. Based on the narrative in the twelfth chapter of the book, how does Penny show her support for Pop-pop's belief that he is able to talk to Mickey, the nephew whom he lost in the War, through radio static?

9. According to the text in the fourteenth chapter of the book, what does Penny do in order to keep her dying Scarlett O'Hara comfortable during the last hours of her life?

10. According to the text in Chapter 17 of the book, what happens in relation to those who visit Penny as she continues her stay in the hospital?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In retrospect, how does the magic bean that used to belong to Penny's father, that was given to her by Uncle Dominic come to symbolize the passing of legacy from father to daughter? Did the bean's "magical" qualities illustrate that type of connection in any way? Why or why not? Cite text and/or paraphrase scenarios from the book in support of your position.

Essay Topic 2

There is within the story, a flashback of Penny dreaming about being with her father at the beach - an obvious illusion of sorts. She is awakened by water from a leaky toilet leaking on her face. She calls on her Uncle Dominic to fix the leaky toilet; and he does - just as he has always done before. Does the leaky toilet wake up Penny to the fact that her biological father now only exists in her dreams, while the role that her Uncle Dominic has in her life is more that of a real father? Cite text and/or paraphrase scenarios from the book to support your position.

Essay Topic 3

Although Penny's father has been dead for a number of years, it is apparent that his family members have not let him go. There are numerous actions and activities in the story that illustrate how members of his side of the family continue to mourn for him. Explain whether their action(s) and/or activities have influenced Penny's feelings toward her deceased father in a positive or negative way, citing examples from the book in support of your position.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,103 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample