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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. Who is the first friend at Collegiate that Peralta goes home with?

2. What does Peralta most like to do as a child?

3. What does Peralta win a prize for in fourth grade?

4. Who is one of the people taking care of Peralta and Yando when their mother is hospitalized in Part II?

5. How much is the tuition at Collegiate when Peralta applies there?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do Peralta and Yando keep their shoes on in the shower at the homeless shelter?

2. What differences does Peralta feel between his neighborhood in Harlem and the Upper West Side, where his private school is located?

3. Why does Peralta's mother have a falling out with her family in Chapter 1?

4. What early literature assignment at Collegiate captivates Peralta, and why?

5. How does Peralta first realize his family is poor?

6. What does Peralta have to work on before he applies to Collegiate in Part II?

7. Why does Peralta decide not to tell his mother about his breathing problems in Part II?

8. Why do Peralta's parents go their separate ways in the early 1990s?

9. Why does one of Maria's friends think that Peralta might not be her son?

10. When does Peralta first realize he and his mother do not have papeles (papers)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay explaining the impact that Jeff has on both Peralta's and Yando's lives, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the book, how does Peralta describe his interactions with girls and women he is interested in romantically? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How does hearing some of his Princeton classmates' hard-line views on immigration change Peralta's ideas about his own role in the country's immigration debate? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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