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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. While at the Pacific Science Center, Shawn indicates someone "looks a lot more 'mad' back then." Who is Shawn referring to?
(a) Sydney McDaniel.
(b) Alice Ponds.
(c) Earl Detraux.
(d) Einstein.

2. When does Paul realize what he is doing with the lighter?
(a) When Shawn goes into a seizure.
(b) When Cindy screams in his face.
(c) When the lighter fails to ignite.
(d) When their mother opens the back door.

3. In the stanza of the poem that opens Chapter 9, what is the ghost bird replacing?
(a) Joy.
(b) A real bird.
(c) Healing.
(d) A heart.

4. In the stanza of the poem that opens Chapter 10, what has become a "meringue of dust"?
(a) Feathers.
(b) Words.
(c) Ideas.
(d) Concrete.

5. While "twisting through the universe" in Chapter 13, what is Shawn's favorite part of the experience?
(a) Being surrounded by Paul and Cindy's laughter.
(b) Having Ally flying at his side.
(c) Hearing songs, melodies and symphonies in his head.
(d) The feeling of his dad's arms holding him.

6. Shawn, Cindy, and Paul all know what when it comes to their father?
(a) No one can protect Shawn from him.
(b) Their father is absent much of the time so there is little motivation for him to kill Shawn.
(c) Paul is stronger then his father, so Shawn is safe.
(d) He is too cowardly to ever hurt Shawn.

7. What happens to Shawn and his father after his father finishes speaking in Chapter 16?
(a) They lock eyes.
(b) They breathe in unison.
(c) Shawn's father releases their thumbs.
(d) Tears run down both of their cheeks.

8. How far away from Cindy and her friends is Shawn usually sitting before he is put to bed?
(a) All answers are correct.
(b) Fifteen feet away.
(c) Close enough to hear all but whispered secrets.
(d) One room away.

9. When his father comes into Shawn's room, perhaps to kill him, how does Shawn feel?
(a) Afraid.
(b) Confused.
(c) Happy.
(d) Calm.

10. What do the ruffians do to Shawn?
(a) They stab the tires of his wheelchair.
(b) They burn him.
(c) They dump him out of his wheelchair.
(d) They squirt him with a hose.

11. What item is not in Shawn's father's bedroom?
(a) A photograph of Shawn, his parents, and his siblings.
(b) A photograph of Shawn's sister.
(c) A poster from the science center.
(d) A photograph of Shawn.

12. How is Sydney McDaniel introduced on The Alice Ponds Show?
(a) As a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author.
(b) As a prize-winning writer who can explain the nature of pure evil.
(c) As a man who is considering the murder of his own child.
(d) As a parent who kills.

13. After Shawn's father sits on Shawn's oversized crib, what does he put in his lap?
(a) A quilt.
(b) A pillow.
(c) Shawn.
(d) A mobile.

14. What kind of perfume does Shawn remember his mother wearing?
(a) Joy.
(b) Charlie.
(c) Opium.
(d) Chanel No. 5.

15. Who gathers with Shawn to watch his father's episode of The Alice Ponds Show?
(a) Mom and Paul.
(b) The extended McDaniel family.
(c) Lindy, Cindy, and Paul.
(d) Cindy and Paul.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is referred to as being trapped at Shawn's house all night?

2. In the dream about Ally, where are Ally and Shawn sitting?

3. What does the reader know for sure Vonda has in her purse?

4. Who flies to Los Angeles to appear on The Alice Ponds Show?

5. In Shawn's memory of Christmas when he is six years old, what are Cindy and Paul doing?

(see the answer keys)

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