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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 is Shawn's bed like at home?

2. What is newsworthy about Collin?

3. What does Shawn do at the end of the dream about Ally?

4. Shawn's father's house can be described as what?

5. What happens at the very end of chapter 16?

Short Essay Questions

1. On The Alice Ponds Show, what is Alice Ponds' goal while interviewing Sydney McDaniel.

2. Which characters are going to Spokane in chapter 13 and why is it significant that they are going?

3. Paul and Shawn's mother have opposite views about Sydney, Shawn's father. Who does Shawn agree with and what is his opinion of his father?

4. On The Alice Ponds Show, there is a clip of an interview between Sydney McDaniel and Earl Detraux. What does Earl Detraux look like and what is his demeanor?

5. What is apparent about the relationship between Paul and his father after Paul finds out that his father wants him to go on the Alice Ponds show?

6. What does Shawn mean when he says that "invisibility has its advantages" when it comes to girls?

7. In Chapter 14, Shawn dreams that his father sees angels. What is the significance of the angels?

8. What are some of the things in Chapter 10 that Shawn remembers about his mother from over the years that make him feel loved?

9. If Shawn has never been to his father's house, does Shawn have an accurate knowledge of what his father's bedroom looks like, and if so, how does he know?

10. Paul and Cindy discuss their father's appearance on The Alice Ponds Show. What do they think about what their father says on the show?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Shawn states that he does not like it when people are called "special." Write about at least two characters who can be considered "special" in Stuck in Neutral.

Part 1) What does Shawn mean by "special," who is considered "special," and in what way are there characters in Stuck in Neutral considered special?

Part 2) How does Shawn's attitude and the attitude of others about being considered "special" add tension to the plot?

Essay Topic 2

One of Sydney McDaniel's main reasons for saying he wants to end Shawn's life is because he says he wants to end Shawn's "pain." What does Sydney think that the pain is like for Shawn when he has his daily seizures? Where does he get his information? Is he correct? Name three ways that Sydney's reaction to his son's seizures affects Shawn and the entire family?

Essay Topic 3

Paul and his father have both evidenced the desire to protect Shawn. Write a brief essay comparing and contrasting Paul and Sydney with regard to their sense of responsibility to protect Shawn. How are they the same and how do they differ? What concrete actions do they take to protect him? What actions can you predict they might take in the future? Will these actions in fact protect Shawn? Why or why not? Provide examples from the novel to support your assertion.

(see the answer keys)

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