View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. After Leo, Laura, and Bobby speed away from the drug dealer's house amidst a hail of gunfire, what does Laura see that causes her to panic again?

2. Laura writes that she knows Norma will be unable to call her back anytime soon to work on their volunteering idea because Norma's husband Hank has gotten in some trouble. What kind of trouble is he in?

3. What does Bobby call Laura's parents?

4. After Laura stops sleeping, how many pounds does she say she has lost since she last slept?

5. What happens to Laura when she walks over to Highway 21 with the intention to hitchhike to Jacque's cabin?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of the first sentence that Johnny speaks aloud?

2. What is Laura's relationship with Johnny?

3. What is the significance of the list of 40 sets of initials within Laura's diary?

4. What happens at the Double R Diner on Christmas Eve that makes Laura feel victorious?

5. How does Laura feel after the party at which she won a sexual bet and hung around with people ten years older?

6. How do Bobby and Laura spend New Year's Eve of 1987?

7. Discuss the meaning of Laura's poem on page 128 entitled "In the Eyes of the Visitor."

8. What retort does BOB give to Laura's idea to call the police and tell them about the abuse BOB is inflicting on her?

9. What happens in the only dream Laura has about her dad?

10. How does Bobby end up shooting a man as Laura, Leo, and Bobby flee the gunfire at the drug dealer's house?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how the theme of appearance versus reality is demonstrated within the novel and state the message the author is sending about this topic. Back up your argumentative points with quotes from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of Laura's meeting with the Log Lady. What is the author's purpose for including this scene and what message does the scene send to the reader? Support your answer with quotes from the scene and from elsewhere within the novel.

Essay Topic 3

How does the reader's uncertainty about the true identity of Laura's abuser referred to as BOB ensure that Laura, the victim, will be the focal point of the story, rather than the abuser? How is this choice by the author a radical one and what message is it sending about the roles of abuser and abused within society? Prove your claims with quotes from the novel.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,184 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample