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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. Why does Mabel really seem to want to go to bed early in Chapter Four?

2. Where is Marin's college?

3. Why does Mabel tell Marin she came to see her in Chapter Four?

4. What does Marin do with her dress?

5. What does Gramps often call Marin?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Marin struggling so much during her first months at college?

2. What does Courtney say about Marin's living arrangement that makes Marin feel bad in Chapter Seven?

3. In Chapter Seven, what connection does Marin make with the taxi driver?

4. What story does Emily tell Marin about Gramps in Chapter Five?

5. What does Marin do ahead of Mabel's visit to show she is happy Mabel is there?

6. What does Marin not have at the end of high school that she feels bad about and everyone else seems to have?

7. Why does Gramps get so angry at Sister Josephine in Part I?

8. What passages in different works of literature is Marin drawn to in Chapter Five?

9. Why is Marin reluctant to go into the elevator while alone in her dorm?

10. What does Mabel tell Marin about her college experience that shocks Marin?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are some of Gramps's most loving actions that Marin tries to hold on to when the full magnitude of his betrayal and deception hits her in the aftermath of his death? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

Why do the surfers on the beach - even those Marin has barely met before - routinely give her shells when they see her? How do these trinkets make Marin feel? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Why does Gramps get so upset when Marin asks him for a baby picture of herself? Months later, after Gramps's death, why is Marin fixated on the absence of a baby picture of her in her high school yearbook? 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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