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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. In Chapter 15, what famous fictional city is Syracuse the inspiration for?

2. Why do Ally and her boyfriend keep their relationship secret?

3. Which child of Clara Loomis's was rumored to be fathered by John Humphrey Noyes?

4. In Chapter 13, what does Sam think the competitive college admissions process is really about?

5. In Chapter 14, what does Sam's husband ask if she has installed in her new house?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In Chapter 9, how does Sam react to the woman on her porch?

3. What begins emerging as a source of tension between Ally and Sam early on in Ally's adolescence?

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

5. In Chapter 13, what does Sam really think of the brutal college admissions competition?

6. What does Sam do to try to keep in touch with Ally?

7. In Chapter 5, why do some of the youngest women at the activist meeting get angry and storm out?

8. Where does Sam work, and what does she do there?

9. What does Matt seem to think Sam's decision to leave him might really be mostly about?

10. What is Ally's relationship with Lily like?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing Spiotta's style and tone throughout this novel, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Why does the missing tile after the break-in at Sam's new house bother her so much? What does the tile - and the house itself - symbolize to Sam? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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