1. When the head of the ship's committee tells the passengers that the ship will be heading back to Europe, what are the two phrases chanted by the passengers?
(a) "Set us free" and "Do the right thing."
(b) "We won't give up" and "We will not die."
(c) "Set us free or pay the price" and "Freedom now."
(d) "We will not die" and "We will not return."

2. What is NOT one thing Josef realizes just after his father's rescue from the ocean?
(a) His little sister is by herself somewhere.
(b) His father is not the same man he had been before the concentration camp.
(c) His mother is unconscious.
(d) His infant brother is missing.

3. What is NOT listed among the items provided by the tourists who help Isabel and the other passengers?
(a) Bottles of water.
(b) Aspirin.
(c) Life jackets.
(d) Bags of chips.

4. When Mahmoud and his family finally reach Greece, no one is celebrating and Mahmoud says he knows why. What reason does Mahmoud give for the refugees' lack of celebration?
(a) Too many of them had lost loved ones in the sea on the way over.
(b) They have heard that Greece has decided to return all Syrian refugees to Syria.
(c) They know that the most dangerous leg of the trip is still to come.
(d) They are too tired to do much of anything.

5. The narrator remarks that despite the number of dead bodies Mahmoud has seen, the experience of "seeing death" (180) never stops being what?
(a) Horrifying.
(b) Sad.
(c) Alarming.
(d) Deadening.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Mahmoud cries with "exhaustion and misery" (192) while floating in the sea and wants "to do it all over again," what is NOT something he includes on the list of things he would do differently?

2. What is Josef's father's profession at the start of the novel?

3. For what transgression do the Nazis say they are taking Josef's father into "protective custody" (3)?

4. What is eventually the only part of Isabel's family's boat that remains unsplintered?

5. Where does Mahmoud's father keep the family's official papers and their money?

(see the answer key)

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