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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. Where does Lina often meet her high school boyfriend for trysts?

2. Who in Maggie's class asks a crass question to Mr. Knodel when Mr. Knodel tells the class about his illness?

3. Where does Lina live, according to the Prologue?

4. What sport does Maggie play in high school?

5. Which writer does Taddeo quote at the very beginning of the book?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Maggie do in Hawaii that changes how her family views her when she gets back from the trip?

2. What does Mr. Knodel tell Maggie about what happened to her in Hawaii?

3. How does Sloane deal with watching her husband have sex with other women in front of her?

4. How does Sloane react when she and Richard and Karin have their first threesome?

5. How does Maggie confide in Mr. Knodel about what happened to her in Hawaii?

6. How does Maggie react when she is demoted from varsity to JV soccer in high school?

7. What does Lina tell her women's support group that makes them all see her differently?

8. Why do Sloane and Richard decide to start their own restaurant in Newport?

9. What do some people think is Maggie's motivation for accusing Aaron Knodel of a crime?

10. What is Lina most frustrated about in her marriage with Ed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One central theme Taddeo examines throughout each of the three women's narratives is the loss of innocence. Write an essay analyzing Taddeo's approach to the exploration of this theme through the stories of each of her three main subjects - Maggie, Lina, and Sloane.

Essay Topic 2

In the Prologue, Taddeo writes that she tells Maggie's story, in particular, through Maggie's eyes. Taddeo keeps her focus and point-of-view narrowly on Lina and Sloane, as well, telling their stories almost entirely from their own perspectives. Write an essay analyzing Taddeo's decision to tell each woman's stories almost entirely from their own points of view. How do you think this decision both strengthens and weakens this book?

Essay Topic 3

The three women Taddeo chooses to focus this book upon are all white, heterosexual, and cisgender. Do you think Taddeo's work would have been strengthened if she had included more diverse female perspectives and experiences? Write an essay explaining why or why not.

(see the answer keys)

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