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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 Sam remember about her daughter during her first few nights in her new house?

2. What does YAD stand for?

3. Where does Sam go sometimes to try to catch a glimpse of Ally?

4. What male name does Laci sometimes use online?

5. What does Sam's husband say she could have waited for to leave him?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Ally immediately think when Sam tells her she and Matt are splitting up?

2. What happens when Sam goes to a community meeting in her new neighborhood?

3. What does Ally do with her secret boyfriend even though she has been cautioned against it many times?

4. Who is Ally secreting seeing romantically, and why is this relationship secret?

5. How are the house Sam buys and her decision to leave her husband related?

6. What does Sam think of MH when she first meets her?

7. Why does MH tell Sam she does open-mic night at the Smiley Face?

8. How does Sam afford the house she buys in Part I?

9. In Chapter 6, what does Matt ask Sam to do regarding their daughter Ally?

10. What does Ally think about one day telling Sam about her secret relationship?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Ally really seem to feel about her relationship with Joe, and how does Spiotta communicate these feelings to the reader? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How do Sam's anxieties begin to take over a larger and larger part of her life as the novel progresses? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How do Sam's feelings and opinions about political activism, and about the activists she has met recently, including Laci and MH, change over the course of the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 672 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample