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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 Jeremy tell his father Ezra was at after his car accident?

2. What does Irene give to the homeless man outside the Old Market in Part Two, Chapter 2?

3. In Part Two, Chapter 1, what is the topic of the argument the Samples and Peter are having?

4. What hopeful, but unlikely, situation does the narrator portray in regards to Irene and Lisa at the start of Part Three?

5. What does Irene say in the letter she sends two weeks after she goes missing in Part Two, Chapter 6?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Lisa initially respond to her mother's disappearance?

2. What are some of the first signs that Irene is taking her new church very seriously, and that it may be beginning to take over her life?

3. How does Irene view Peter Sample's courtship? What brings her to marry Peter, even though internally she has reservations?

4. When Irene leaves Bible study early and tells Peter it is because the others did not like the question she is asking, what sort of questions is Irene most likely asking that are controversial?

5. Why does Jeremy relate a weekend in Vegas to what happens to him at Lisa house in Part Three, Chapter 4?

6. Why is Sarah Jane truly concerned about Ezra's car accident?

7. How and why does Sarah Jane justify not providing Jeremy access to the phone at the farmhouse after Ezra's accident?

8. Using the quote, "...when she'd [Irene] gave no indication that anything unusual had happened or was about to happen or would continue happening without interruption in the days to follow" (127), what might the reader assume about Irene's disappearance?

9. Irene places the tract given to her by pastor Michael Christopher in her pocket and then in the "anything drawer" at the house. Why does Irene's placement of the tract give it more meaning?

10. In Part Three, Chapter 1, what are the two versions of where Irene may be according to the narrator? How do the different stories leave out any definite information?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Lisa Sample's mother, Irene, has doubts about moving to Crescent with her new husband, Peter, at the start of Part Two, Chapter 1. Irene has a difficult time living away from her parents and making friends in this foreign setting. How do you know that Irene is not happy with their move? Why does Irene feel so homesick? What changes take place in Crescent that substantiate her despair?

Essay Topic 2

Part Four, Chapters 1-3 catapults the narrative forward to the lives of the Pratts, as they move into Lisa Sample's old farmhouse. The two children, James and Abby, find a vehicle containing Lisa's old videos. They fight over the content, titles, and reasons for the making of the videos. How do James' and Abby's opinions differ? What new discoveries can be made about the videos' content, titles, and possible reasons for why the videos were made using past information?

Essay Topic 3

The end of Part Three, Chapter 4 moves the story into the future, 16 months after Jeremy and Stephanie visited Lisa's farmhouse. The description of what took place is foggy at best, but major conclusions can be made about the plot. How does the author choose to chronicle the incident that takes place? What exactly happens to Jeremy and Stephanie and how do the previous chapters of the novel contribute to your understanding?

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