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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 5, what does Ally's college admissions essay turn into without her even realizing it?

2. Where does MH suggest meeting Sam to talk?

3. Where do Sam and her husband meet for the very first time?

4. In Chapter 16, what does Laci ask Sam to sign for her?

5. In Chapter 13, how long ago did Sam's father die?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Ally end up in the ER when she was 15?

2. In Chapter 2, what does Sam do that even she knows crosses a line with Ally when Ally goes to the movies with her friends?

3. What does Sam talk about at open mic night?

4. What are some of Sam's happiest memories of being with Lily and Ally?

5. What does the reader learn about Matt's and Sam's history in Part III?

6. What is the most serious of Sam's "rage events"?

7. What does Sam realize about the effect of her own love for Ally on Sam's perception of Ally?

8. What does Ally think about the likelihood of her father figuring out her affair?

9. Why is Sam's open mic night such a terrible disaster?

10. What does Sam think is a bit unseemly about the general American obsession with physical optimization and self-improvement in Part III?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Spiotta establish and maintain tension and suspense in the plot from the beginning to the end of the novel? 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 does Sam's stroke end up affecting all of her relationships, as well as her own perception of herself and her future? 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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