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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. Who told Mrs. Jordan the name of Agatha and Thomas' father?

2. Who quit college to work for the post office?

3. Whose car broke down the night Danny killed himself?

4. What does Mrs. Myrdal say she caught Lucy shoplifting during one of their excursions together?

5. Who is born on Ian's birthday, January 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. What reasons does Bee give for why the Bedloe family is ordinary?

2. Explain how Agatha tries to care for her baby sister, Daphne.

3. What does Doug Bedloe do to find Agatha and Thomas' father?

4. What is the setting for the Church's indoor picnic?

5. How does the Bedloe family react to Lucy when they first meet her?

6. Describe Ian Bedloe when he was still in high school.

7. Describe the way things have changed in the Bedloe household by the Christmas after Lucy death.

8. Why does Lucy visit the typewriter shop?

9. How does Agatha try to comfort Thomas?

10. How does Ian show himself to be a hero at the Church of the Second Chance indoor picnic?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Identify two characters outside of the Bedloe family who have an important impact on them. How do these characters change the family in significant ways?

Essay Topic 2

Daphne calls Ian Saint Maybe and Mr. Cautious. Explain how you see the truth of these labels in Ian's actions and demeanor. Do you think he changes as the story unfolds? Describe one experience later in the novel where he is not a Saint Maybe.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the importance of Lucy's jewelry box. Why is it significant to the story that Agatha hides it, but Ian eventually discovers it? What information does the box reveal that causes Ian to change?

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This section contains 801 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample