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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 was Sunny's mother's given name?

2. How many of the people rounded up in the Alaska Territory were Aleuts rather than Japanese?

3. In "The Second Property of Thirst," how many people show up at Lou's without calling ahead and Sunny asks Schiff to help serve?

4. How did Schiff's mother ruin food?

5. What French cookbooks did Lou have?

Short Essay Questions

1. What has Schiff read about the Central Valley in California?

2. What were the first things Sunny taught herself to cook?

3. How did Sunny, Tops, Cas, and Stryker create their own patterns of eating?

4. What does Sunny do after learning about the bombing at Pearl Harbor?

5. What phrase did Sunny's mother believe about food, and who originated the catchphrase?

6. What happens when Hauser, Schiff, and Macauley go to Three Chairs to get permission to build an airstrip?

7. Why is Schiff in California?

8. How did Sunny translate her mother's recipe books and cooking notes?

9. How is Rocky tracking the water table on his land?

10. What thoughts does Rocky have about him and Stryker and other fathers and sons?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sunny and Stryker are twins. What type of relationship do they have? What role does Sunny have to play in their relationship and why?

Essay Topic 2

Wiggins had a stroke during the writing of Properties of Thirst. What challenges did Wiggins have to overcome in order to finish the book? How was she able to overcome those challenges?

Essay Topic 3

Backstories are used to present information about events that happened before events in a narrative. How do backstories provide insight into individuals and events in Properties of Thirst? What is the importance of backstories in the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,113 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample