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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 kind of car does Khalil drive?

2. With whose picture does Maverick replace Martin Luther King's picture when he buys Carter's Grocery?

3. Who does Lisa call with an invitation to come over to her house after the sounds of machine guns have been heard in the neighborhood?

4. What detail does Starr forget to tell the detectives during her initial interview?

5. Who stops the teens from robbing Seven and Starr on the basketball court?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Starr say she needs to figure out about her and Chris's relationship before they can go any further with their romance?

3. What reason does Starr give for loving the TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?

4. What reasons does Starr give for keeping from Chris the fact that she had witnessed Khalil's murder?

5. What is going on outside of Khalil's funeral when it is over, who decides to participate, and why?

6. Whom does Starr call when she feels she can no longer handle being at school the day of the basketball game altercation and why?

7. What is revealed about Starr's dad Maverick's criminal past in the opening three chapters?

8. At what moments does Starr feel she has overstepped her bounds or has made mistakes within her interview with the detectives who question her about the night of Khalil's death?

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

Explain the author's comparison among Riverton Hills, Garden Heights, and Brook Falls. What is her purpose in presenting these three neighborhood archetypes?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the symbolism of Maverick's store, differentiating between what it represents in its past incarnation, what it represents during its demise due to fire, and what it represents as a result of the plans for it in the future.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the significance of the list of names Starr mentions at the end of the novel and its ties to the novel's themes.

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