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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 does Celine do before leaving the two young men?

2. Why does Levi stop at a Chinese restaurant?

3. What does Dov want when he calls the next morning?

4. Why does the man say in reply to Levi saying he wants Boaz to come home?

5. What happened once when Boaz was riding in a Humvee?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Levi calculate and decide to do?

2. What do the three friends learn when they pull into a Motel 9 in Ridgewood?

3. Why does Levi shave his head?

4. Who do Pearl and Levi go to see in Poughkeepsie and how does Levi know they are at the right place?

5. How is Levi surprised when they arrive at Celine's aunt's house in Edgewood?

6. What does Loren call to tell Levi the day before Levi leaves in search of Boaz?

7. How does Loren respond to Levi saying he just wants Boaz to come home?

8. What enrages Levi so much that he goes up and pounds on Boaz's bedroom door and what happens?

9. Describe Levi's conversation with Christina.

10. How does Boaz act towards Levi at dinner after Levi confronts Boaz and what happens the next morning?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the following:

1. Who is/are the protagonists of the story and why?

2. Who is/are the antagonists of the story and why?

3. Which three secondary characters have the greatest impact on the plot?

4. Are any of the characters dispensable? Why or why not?

5. Do you think this is a character-driven plot or an action-driven plot? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

The Things a Brother Knows belongs to the young adult novel genre. Discuss the following:

1. Define the literary term "genre" and give several examples of three other genres in addition to the young adult novel genre.

2. Discuss two reasons why it might be useful to label a text by genre and two reasons it might be disadvantageous to label a text by genre.

3. What do you think is the difference between a young adult novel and a historical novel mystery?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the following:

1. What is a plot? What are the most important elements of a plot and their definition? Do all novels have a plot? Why or why not?

2. Write a brief synopsis of the plot of The Things a Brother Knows, identifying where the various elements of the plot occur (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution or denouement). Do you find it difficult to identify the plot? Why or why not? What about the various elements of the plot?

3. Identify the major sub-plots and their elements in The Things a Brother Knows. (The subplots may not contain every element of a major plot.) Do the sub-plots add to the main plot? Why or why not? Are the sub-plots interesting in and of themselves? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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