View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Theo ask his nieces to do?

2. What kind of car do Sarah and Theo drive when they go looking for Mimi in Part III?

3. Who will Waldo look for even after he knows they are long gone?

4. Who is Sarah's therapist?

5. Who calls Mimi's and Ben's house on New Year's Eve in 1999?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mimi die?

2. What does the man Sarah is having an affair threaten her with?

3. What is the legend around the tree in the Wilf's front yard?

4. What does Ben realize fairly soon after the car accident in 1985?

5. When does Ben realize Mimi is developing dementia?

6. What does Alice do after Waldo runs away?

7. Where does Ben think Mimi might have gone?

8. What does Mimi think about Ben's temperament?

9. Who calls Shenkman to tell him where Waldo is?

10. Who calls Mimi and Ben on New Year's Eve in 1999 that makes them very emotional?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does Theo decide to leave the Wilf family and travel, with barely any contact for several years, following the accident? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Shapiro highlight the challenges women have faced in managing paid work and their responsibilities and roles as unpaid caregivers of children and aging parents throughout the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How does Shapiro use the car accident involving Sarah, Theo, and Misty in the very beginning of the novel to set the tone and the plot points for the rest of the book? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 487 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample