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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 Lorelei looking for when she discovers that some of her things are missing?

2. What item breaks on the first Easter described in the book and ends up in the garage with two others just like it?

3. Where is Jason from?

4. What issue do Rory and Kayleigh seem to be fighting about when they visit for Easter?

5. Who is the first person that Beth suspects knows about her affair with Bill?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Colin end up as Lorelei's next-door neighbor?

2. Even though she is disgusted by her own behavior, why does Beth think she cannot give up her affair with Bill?

3. In the early years of her relationship with Lorelei, how does Vicky view Lorelei, and how does she view Lorelei's children?

4. What surprises Beth about Molly's existence, and what does it make her realize about herself?

5. What sign of growth does Lorelei show in her New Years email to Jim?

6. What is the one thing about Lorelei that Vicky cannot understand, and how does she try to reconcile herself to it?

7. How does Rory's new friend inspire him to make a change in his life?

8. What similarities does Meg see between Alfie and Rhys, and when was she most worried about these similarities?

9. What does Rory think is Lorelei's way of dealing with Rhys's death?

10. What is Alfie's full name, and what is its significance?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After Beth witnesses the scene between her mother and her father and Vicky in Chapter 7, she goes upstairs to her own room. What is it that so disturbs her about the appearance of her room? What does it imply about her? How does juxtaposing her dawning realizations about her own room and herself with the scene between her parents and Vicky create a sense of urgency and help the reader understand Beth's decision to try again with Jason? Write an essay in which you analyze how the details in and structure of this section of Chapter 7 allows the reader to more fully understand Beth's panic and her choice to attempt a relationship with Jason.

Essay Topic 2

What story does Lorelei choose to convey through her emails to Jim? How does this story reveal her character and her perspective? What does it add to the book to be able to see into Lorelei's mind in this way? How do her emails create foreshadowing and suspense? Write an essay that considers the effect of incorporating these emails into the text. Show how the reader's understanding of character and theme are impacted by these emails, and discuss the emails' impact on reader engagement. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text.

Essay Topic 3

The title of this novel focuses the reader's attention on Bird House itself. Why? How does the title relate to the book's theme? Write an essay that analyzes the book's title and Bird House's central relationship to the book's concerns with family, generational dysfunction, renewal, and personal growth. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text.

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