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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 do Khalil's classmates present to Khalil's family at his funeral?

2. Who is Kenya's biological father?

3. How long does Starr's first interview with the detectives last?

4. What does Khalil say just before the policeman shoots him three times?

5. After how many months of being treated for cancer does Nana get fired from her hospital job?

Short Essay Questions

1. What dichotomy does Starr describe between her Garden Heights persona and her Williamson Prep persona?

2. What racist comment does Hailey make to Starr during the basketball game in PE that upsets Starr?

3. What sort of help does DeVante seek from Maverick and what sort of help does he receive?

4. What action does Starr take that she names as a betrayal worse than dating a white boy and why?

5. What is the origin story of Seven's conception and how does it affect the family dynamic?

6. What kind of memories flood Starr's mind as she walks up Rosalie's walkway when they go to visit Rosalie instead of attending church?

7. Though Starr's family is used to hearing gunshots in their neighborhood, what causes them to turn the lights off and to eat dinner on the floor the night after Khalil's funeral?

8. What clues does the author inject into the party scene that indicate that gunshots are not a rare occurrence in Starr's neighborhood of Garden Heights?

9. What is the nature of Starr's relationship with King, Kenya's father?

10. What does Starr reveal about the makeup of her family's religious beliefs in the opening chapters?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author's purpose in including the character of Seven, who bridges the two worlds of Maverick and King due to one of his parents living within each household. How would the omission of his character make the novel's themes more difficult for the author to portray?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Maverick's decision to keep his store within the neighborhood of Garden Heights, even though he decides to move his family's home to a safer location within Brook Falls. What messages is the author sending through this character's choices?

Essay Topic 3

For what purpose does the author break the novel into five titled parts but to leave all 26 chapters untitled?

(see the answer keys)

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