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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Lila's apartment smell like?
(a) Baby powerder and vanilla.
(b) Fresh-baked bread.
(c) Alcohol and cigarettes.
(d) Mold and cats.

2. What is the secret Joe blurts out to Carl?
(a) His grandfather is not really dead.
(b) He watched his grandfather die.
(c) His grandfather molested him.
(d) He killed his grandfather.

3. What is Occam's razor?
(a) The murder weapon in the Crystal Hagen case.
(b) The idea that people who want to kill someone will always find a way.
(c) The principle that says all things being equal, the simplest conclusion is usually the correct one.
(d) The weapon used to cut Carl's throat while he was in prison.

4. In which month does the story begin?
(a) May.
(b) November.
(c) September.
(d) August.

5. What disorder does Jeremy live with?
(a) Autism.
(b) Bipolar disorder.
(c) Drug addiction.
(d) Cerebral Palsy.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is wrong with Virgil's body?

2. What prevented the boat from floating alongside Joe's grandfather?

3. What happened when Joe brought home his first girlfriend, Phyllis, in high school?

4. Where does Joe assume Virgil and Carl met?

5. How did Joe get the money for his mother's bail?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Joe resolve his guilt of leaving Jeremy with his mother and Larry?

2. What illness does Carl Iverson have? Is he recieveing treatment?

3. In Chapter 4, Joe finds a photograph of Carl Iverson being taken into custody. What does he see when he looks at Carl's face in the photo?

4. How does the short document about Carl's war service conflict with his crime?

5. Why does Terry Bremer call Joe when his mother does not come home?

6. How did Carl save Virgil's life in Vietnam?

7. Why is Carl's request for a speedy trial something that his defense considered unusual?

8. How does Joe try to get Lila Nash to notice him at the beginning of the book?

9. What is the purpose of Carl's "dying declaration"?

10. Why does Jeremy look to the corners of the room when Joe is talking to him?

(see the answer keys)

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