2. How does Isabel's father sustain the wounds that she is cleaning when the narrative rejoins her?
(a) He is beaten by a mugger.
(b) He is beaten by police.
(c) He falls off a ladder at his job.
(d) He is shot in the melee of the riots.

3. Then narrator describes the fast-approaching tanker heading toward Isabel's boat as eventually getting so loud that it sounds like a what?
(a) A hurricane.
(b) A tornado.
(c) A jet engine.
(d) A stream of freeway traffic.

4. Who is the subject of the portrait that the rabbi asks Captain Schroeder to remove during the bar mitzvah on the ship?
(a) Joseph Stalin.
(b) Fidel Castro.
(c) Adolf Hitler.
(d) Benito Mussolini.

5. What show is Waleed watching when the family's apartment is destroyed by a missile?
(a) Teletubbies.
(b) Power Rangers.
(c) The Smurfs.
(d) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

6. 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) An approaching tanker.
(b) An approaching storm.
(c) A man who has been reported missing.
(d) A funeral at sea.

7. In what year does Isabel's narrative from Havana, Cuba begin?
(a) 1994.
(b) 1983.
(c) 2001.
(d) 1959.

8. What is Josef's father's profession at the start of the novel?
(a) Reporter.
(b) Tailor.
(c) Doctor.
(d) Lawyer.

9. On what condition is Josef's father released?
(a) That he provide information about one of his neighbors.
(b) That he remain in Berlin until further notice.
(c) That he pay the Nazis a series of bribes.
(d) That his whole family leave Germany at once.

10. What item falls out of Josef's pocket and is stomped on by a member of the Hitler Youth?
(a) His armband.
(b) His photograph of his grandfather.
(c) His yarmulke.
(d) His glasses.

11. When Señor Castillo asks Isabel's father what he wants to do when he gets to America, what is Isabel's father's reply?
(a) He says he wants to be free.
(b) He says he wants to make a million dollars.
(c) He says he wants to help other refugees.
(d) He says he wants to start over.

12. When the narrative rejoins Josef in 1939, each member of the family is now wearing what item?
(a) A Star of David tattoo.
(b) A red jacket.
(c) A prisoner number placard.
(d) A Star of David armband.

13. What is the name of the ship Josef's family's boards?
(a) MS St. Louis.
(b) MS St. Croix.
(c) MS St. Lawrence.
(d) MS St. Cyprian.

14. To what type of structure does the boy lead Mahmoud and his family?
(a) To a library.
(b) To an abandoned hospital.
(c) To a bus depot.
(d) To an abandoned shopping mall.

15. What is NOT a way in which Josef's father has changed since being imprisoned in a concentration camp?
(a) He is paranoid.
(b) He is thin.
(c) He is gaunt.
(d) He has rage in his eyes.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Josef and the children are below deck during their ship tour, Schiendick and his friends begin to sing a song with anti-Semitic lyrics. What is the subject of the song?

2. In what year does the telling of Josef's narrative begin?

3. When Josef overhears two stewards talking about racing other boats to Cuba, how many other boats do they say are traveling their route?

4. The horrific historical event called Kristallnacht means what in the English language?

5. Isabel knows that Ivan and his father are actually building a boat in order to travel where?

(see the answer keys)

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