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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. How does Karen describe her interest in David on page 175?

2. To what does Karen compare the acting exercises the students completed while at CAPA?

3. Karen asserts that she is the only teenage character to receive what in Sarah's book?

4. According to Karen on page 136, what was worshipped at CAPA?

5. How many guns does Karen get for Martin's play?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Karen do on the opening night of Martin's play? Why does she do this?

2. What does Karen ask Sarah to do following their meeting after Sarah's book signing? How does Sarah respond?

3. How does Karen act around Martin, as revealed on page 197? How might her comments indicate her true feelings?

4. Why did Karen return to her hometown? What information does she reveal about her relationship with her mother?

5. According to Karen at the start of the second section of the novel, what is the truth regarding the friendship between Sarah and Karen?

6. How does David feel about the accusations against Martin, as revealed on page 193?

7. What information does Karen reveal about her relationship with Martin when she was a teenager?

8. According to Karen, what did she do following her graduation from high school? What did Sarah do?

9. What is the "Brotherhood" Karen discusses on page 150? For what is this brotherhood responsible, in Karen's opinion?

10. How has David changed, both physically and emotionally, following his graduation from high school, as Karen explains on page 154?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the author’s choice to tell this story through multiple perspectives. How does viewing the action through the eyes of three different individuals affect the story? How would the book be different if the story was told through a single perspective?

Essay Topic 2

Several characters are obsessed with “moments of recognition,” or the moment one is truly seen. Discuss how this idea applies to Sarah, Karen, and Claire as well as what this idea means for the novel as a whole.

Essay Topic 3

What is the role of the arts in the novel? How do the arts impact the novel’s characters, plot, and themes?

(see the answer keys)

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