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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 3.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who tells the boy's father about Eddie's killing?
(a) The boy's mother.
(b) Katie.
(c) Ena and Bernadette.
(d) Brigid.

2. Why is the murder case of 1921 thrown out of court?
(a) The murder suspect had a proven alibi.
(b) The evidence was tampered with.
(c) There wasn't enough evidence.
(d) The murder suspect disappeared.

3. From where does the title of the novel get its name?
(a) The boy's reading of his first book.
(b) The loneliness of reading alone and the boy's feeling of being alone.
(c) The sadness felt by the boy after being forced to read only at night.
(d) The confusion the boy feels by not understanding what he reads.

4. According to the boy's father, how long has the boy's mother known about Eddie?
(a) Since a few years ago.
(b) Since just after the boy was born.
(c) Since just after she married the boy's father.
(d) Since just before she married the boy's father.

5. Who is Billy Mahon?
(a) A policeman.
(b) A friend of the family.
(c) A priest.
(d) A neighbor.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Brother Regan teach the boys at the school in December of 1948?

2. In Chapter 2, the boy remembers being trapped where?

3. What are the IRA gunmen protesting at the shootout at the distillery?

4. How does the boy describe how he got rid of the infestation in Chapter 3?

5. Who does the boy find out is responsible for the murder of 1921?

(see the answer key)

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