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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. What did Maribel's father used to do for work?

2. Where does Gil's second family live?

3. Who is Ethan's childhood crush?

4. What does Maribel soon realize after she and Schuyler fight at the pub?

5. At the end of Chapter 2, what does Joe say his mother is good at doing?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Veronica handle losing her husband, Schuyler, after he is killed overseas?

2. How does the structure of the novel help readers understand the secrets to happiness?

3. How does Maribel describe how she feels after becoming romantically involved with Schuyler?

4. How do Maribel and Schuyler first meet each other?

5. Why does Gil refuse Nok's request to send Jack to a private school?

6. When Jake and June visit Joe and Nok, and they are about to eat the orchid cake made by Veronica, what task do they do in order to cut the cake?

7. What secret does Ethan and his family learn about Gil?

8. After Gil suffers from a second stroke, where does he go and who takes care of him?

9. After four weeks of filming, how does Maribel describe her and Schuyler's morning routine?

10. How does Ethan react to his father's secret?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay summarizing why Tara and her family ended up leaving Kathmandu. Then, explain how Tara's life might have been different if she and her family had never left Kathmandu.

Essay Topic 2

Joe expresses that his mother was a Buddhist yet was "bribing the cycle of karma with petty cash" (80). Write an essay analyzing Joe and his mother's relationship with Buddhism in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay explaining the shift in Saul's perspective about his illness. How did he find happiness during his sickness? What was the importance of Kirk and Ethan's support and Nadia and Rachel's support?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 926 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample