View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What are clinging to Earl's beard and mustache?

2. Why does Jamie hate going to school?

3. Where has Patty gone at the beginning of Chapter 10?

4. How does Jamie stop Van from going into the bedroom?

5. What problems does the ice cause Patty?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Patty calm Jamie down?

2. How does Earl teach Jamie how to ice skate?

3. How do Jamie and Patty spend the week?

4. How does Patty react to Jamie breaking the car handle?

5. How does Patty act on the drive home?

6. What does Jamie think of Van when he sees him again in the final chapter?

7. How does Earl help Patty in Chapter 9?

8. How does Mrs. Desrochers help Jamie with a Christmas present?

9. What problems does Patty have at the beginning of Chapter 9?

10. How do Jamie and Patty spend Saturday?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the author's writing style. How would you describe the author's prose style? What kind of vocabulary does he use? What meaning does the author's style give to the story?

Essay Topic 2

How does Patty react to seeing Van in the trailer? Does Patty react in the right way?

Essay Topic 3

Look at the structure of the book.

How does the author use character and dialogue to drive the narrative?

Discuss elements of the narrative structure; Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the book's themes?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 872 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample