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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. As Amani began to change after the family's holy pilgrimage, how did she feel about her family?

2. After the holy pilgrimage, how did Amani's clothing change?

3. What else did the family learn that Abdullah took from the family safe?

4. As Sultana's brother, Ali, drove the sisters to visit Reema, what opinion did Ali share?

5. When the sisters all gathered to remember their mother, they told Sultana that their mother thought Sultana was a thief. What did Sultana do then that made them all laugh?

Short Essay Questions

1. In addition to other important items, it was revealed that Abdullah also took nearly one million dollars in cash from the family safe. Explain what Abdullah did with that money and how Kareem felt about it.

2. One night in Cairo, Sultana's housekeeper began wailing while she cooked the family's supper. Why was Fatma upset?

3. In the opening scene of Chapter 8, Sultana broke up an argument between her children over a newspaper. Explain why the newspaper was such a hot topic for the siblings.

4. When the sisters went to visit with Reema, how did her husband, Saleem, react when he saw Reema's condition?

5. When Sultana and her family arrived in Monaco to share a rented mansion villa with Sultana's sisters, why were the sisters in a state of anxiety and great sadness?

6. In the Epilogue, the sisters all gathered to remember their mother and to catch up on each other's lives. What did they learn had become of both Ali's wife, Nada, and their sister, Reema?

7. Despite their love being forbidden, Jafer and Fayza found ways to be together. Explain how the two hid their relationship but still maintained contact.

8. Due to the stress of what was happening with her children in the beginning of Chapter 9, Sultana developed what some call a "nervous twitch." Explain how Sultana's stress manifested itself into this "nervous twitch" and what type it was.

9. Describe the main reason why Abdullah's friend, Jafer, and Fayza were forbidden to marry.

10. With Abdullah's efforts to reunite Jafer and Fayza, what was the final outcome for the two forbidden lovers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Early in the book, Sultana wondered if her daughter, Maha, and her sister Sara's daughter, Nashwa, had been switched at birth. What similarities to Sara did Maha display as a child? What similarities to Sultana did Nashwa display as a young adult?

Essay Topic 2

When Sultana, her husband and Aisha's father all agreed that Maha and Aisha should no longer socialize, Maha flew into a rage and caused her parents to seek psychiatric help for their disturbed daughter. Explain the story of the harem girl that Maha told to her psychiatrist and its implications.

Essay Topic 3

Explain how Amani's religious conversion led her down a different path than the rest of her family. How did Amani feel about her family as her faith changed and grew? How did she treat her family differently after her conversion?

(see the answer keys)

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