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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 Asa do when the balloon bursts?

2. What does Asa's mother insist that Dave buy for Asa?

3. Asa thinks the beach bungalows look like __________________.

4. About how many people are in the audience at Show Night?

5. What is the number of Dave's bungalow?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Asa go in the middle of the night, and what does he do?

2. Why is Asa so desperate to be liked by his classmates?

3. Who is Asa, and what is he doing as the novel begins?

4. What has Asa learned about making friends as a side benefit of his moving around so much?

5. What problem does Joel have with the new poem?

6. What news does Asa get from his mother when he returns home from school, and how does he respond to the news?

7. How is Asa introduced to the class, and what is the first project he will work on with other boys?

8. Why does Asa revert to the old poem and include Joel in the recitation?

9. Who is Dave and how do he and Asa get along at their first meeting?

10. What is Dave's demeanor after Asa's mother gets Asa off the roller coaster ride?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the greatest lesson Asa learns from Dave? Is it that important lessons are also painful ones? What will Asa always recall about his life with Dave as his stepfather?

Essay Topic 2

Create a brief character study of Dave. What did he look like? What were his positive personality traits? What were his dreams and fears? What was most valuable to him in his world?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Joel. What is his role in the story, "Not Blue"? What was the author trying to accomplish by developing Joel's character in the novel?

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