1. Josef's family is traveling on a train in order to get on a ship headed for what country?
(a) Cuba.
(b) The United States.
(c) Columbia.
(d) Germany.

2. When Josef's ship slows down, causing his father to think that the ship is being turned around, what is the true cause of the change in speed?
(a) A funeral at sea.
(b) A man who has been reported missing.
(c) An approaching storm.
(d) An approaching tanker.

3. Contrary to the truth, what does Ivan tell Isabel that he and his father are building in their garage?
(a) A skateboard ramp.
(b) A doghouse.
(c) A birdhouse.
(d) A ping pong table.

4. Who gives Mahmoud's father directions that will keep the family away from major sites of fighting?
(a) Soldiers.
(b) Priests.
(c) Nuns.
(d) Missionaries.

5. Where does Josef's mother take Ruthie so that she can enact her plan to calm her husband?
(a) To the pool.
(b) To the gymnasium.
(c) To the library.
(d) To a puppet show.

Short Answer Questions

1. Even though Fidel Castro announces to the Cuban people that they are now free to leave Cuba whenever they want, why is Isabel's mother still especially wary about the trip?

2. What do Mahmoud and his brother Waleed do when they see two boys robbing another boy of a loaf of bread?

3. For what reason has Josef's family recently moved to a smaller apartment in Berlin upon the opening of the novel?

4. Who is the subject of the portrait that the rabbi asks Captain Schroeder to remove during the bar mitzvah on the ship?

5. To whom does Mahmoud give the deceased man's life jacket?

(see the answer key)

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