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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. Why is Brittany nervous about taking Alex to the school nurse's office?

2. What are Brittany's parents discussing when Brittany arrives home?

3. What is Brittany's last name?

4. Who is Carmen?

5. Who is Hector?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Brittany spend the night when she is drunk and why do she and Alex fight the next morning?

2. What unusual technique does the author use regarding point of view in this book?

3. Why is Brittany initially resistant to Alex's flirtations?

4. Why does Alex join a gang and sacrifice any chances of going to college?

5. What halts a confrontation between Brittany and Carmen?

6. In what way do Brittany and Alex have much in common?

7. How does being a Latino Blood gang member make Alex's life harder at school and in his home life?

8. What is Alex's role in the gang, the Latino Bloods?

9. Why is Alex's bet with his friends an especially challenging one?

10. Who is Carmen and why might Brittany have reason to fear her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the tragic story of "Romeo and Juliet"? How are Alex and Brittany like these two star-crossed lovers? In what ways are they different?

Essay Topic 2

Project into the future ten years after the end of the novel and write a brief synopsis for the lives Alex and Brittany. Be sure to incorporate personal, political and cultural impacts on the characters' lives.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the significance of the novel's title--"Perfect Chemistry". Why did Elkeles choose this title? Is there an understood message in the title? Is there another title you can suggest that might be more appropriate?

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