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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 it reasonable to infer that Rory has found when he finds the two pink-wrapped packages in Lorelei's room?

2. What gift did Bill give Meg when he was trying to get her to let him come home after she kicked him out?

3. Where does Beth tell Meg she intends to raise her daughter?

4. When Colin is in Thailand, what does he tell Rory that Lorelei has begun hoarding?

5. Why is Rory unable to travel around with Colin when Colin comes to Thailand?

Short Essay Questions

1. What caused Meg to kick Bill out in 2003, and what was the result?

2. In Chapter 12, what details of Beth's life in Australia following Vicky's funeral are finally filled in?

3. How does Meg's reaction to the news that Colin and Kayleigh are camping while they are in England affirm Kayleigh's characterization of Meg's and Beth's reaction to her?

4. How does Meg's answer to Colin's question about how she is feeling about Lorelei's death demonstrate her complex feelings about her mother?

5. How do Rory's remarks during dinner at the pub in Chapter 14 show that he has genuinely changed?

6. When Beth receives Meg's text about Lorelei's computer password, why is she so relieved and happy?

7. When Colin first meets Owen, how does Rory perceive the encounter, and what does this demonstrate about Rory?

8. What is Vicky's perspective on the way Lorelei helps her during her illness?

9. What assurance does Lorelei offer Jim about their relationship and his drinking, and how does this relate to her own struggles with hoarding?

10. When the first floor of the house is completely cleaned out, what does Meg realize about Lorelei and the past?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

You have spent some time considering how the loss of Rhys impacted Rory later in life. Now, choose a different family member and write an essay that makes and defends a claim about how Rhys's death impacted this character. Consider their relationship with Rhys, their individual personality and capabilities, and in what way their later life might have been different had Rhys lived a natural lifespan. Support your ideas with evidence drawn from throughout the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Consider all of Lorelei's emails as a single body of text. How do they demonstrate her growth? How does knowing that Lorelei is capable of change impact the reader's feelings about how her story ends? How does it affect the reader's feelings about other characters in the story? Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the impact that seeing Lorelei's growth has on the reader, connecting this to the book's larger ideas about family and character. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the text.

Essay Topic 3

What is the nature of the symbolic relationship between Lorelei Bird and Bird House? Does the house symbolize Lorelei, or an aspect of her? Or is the house more like another character in the story, one that Lorelei has a relationship with that is even more important to her than her relationships with people? Write an essay that considers Bird House as a setting and how the changes in this setting over time shed light on Lorelei and her family. Your essay should make and defend a clear claim about the symbolic nature of the relationship between Lorelei and her home. Support your ideas with evidence drawn from throughout the text.

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