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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. What does Steve add to his journal in Part Three, Chapter 3?

2. Even though it was none of his business, what does Jeremy ask Sarah Jane after they leave the scene of the accident at the start of Part Three?

3. How does the narrator describe children in Part Two, Chapter 6?

4. What conflict does Peter have at the start of Part Two, Chapter 4?

5. What is one reason Lisa says that wanted to move to the farmhouse Collins?

Short Essay Questions

1. The story shifts to the future as Jeremy works his new job and demolishes a shed. It ends by saying, "The shock of the impact, the satisfying crunch of boards cracking under hard steel, the muffled sounds of everything inside being quickly crumpled into unrecognizable pulp" (160). What does Jeremy's illustration say about his past experience in Lisa's shed? In what ways does the account provide further insight into Jeremy's development as a character?

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

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

4. 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?

5. Upon Irene's first visit to Michael Christopher's church, what is his interpretation and the importance of the Bible verse from Luke?

6. How is Peter Sample's life described at the start of Part Two, Chapter 1? Do not use the exact information provided, but make inferences that can be drawn. Write in your own words.

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

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

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

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

The final page of Part Two, Chapter 6 explains how Lisa Sample is dealing with her mother's disappearance. The narrator describes how this situation affected Lisa, even if the signs of sadness and confusion are not seen by others around her. What does the narrator say about the effects on Lisa after her mother is gone? How do these effects carry into Lisa's later life as an adult?

Essay Topic 2

Pages 100-101 document a religious tract given to Irene while outside the Old Market. The message relates directly to Irene's situation, as well as how her life possibly evolves in the future. What associations can be made from the tract and Irene's own life? How does the tract signify what is to come later in the novel?

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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