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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 kind of restaurants does Marin stay away from?

2. Where does Marin ask for a job?

3. Where do Marin and Mabel buy new dresses in Chapter Seven?

4. What language other than English does Mabel speak?

5. Who is Marin's best friend in Part I?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Marin tell Mabel she wants to change her major?

2. What is Mabel most frustrated and angry with Marin about?

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

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

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

6. Why is it so awkward that Mabel tells Marin they can be like sisters in Chapter Six?

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

8. What does Marin recall Gramps showing her in Chapter Five that she did not really understand at the time?

9. What does Gramps most enjoy doing with his friends?

10. What was Marin's favorite subject in high school, and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does literature mean to Marin, and what lessons does she seem to take from it as she navigates a shocking and tragic time in her life? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

What memory, previously undiscovered, does Ana's warmth and love bring back to Marin with force in the very end of the novel, and why does this memory mean so much to Marin? 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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