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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What magazine reminded August that her family was not as poor as others?
(a) Time.
(b) National Geographic.
(c) People.
(d) Life.

2. How much older is August than her brother?
(a) 1 year.
(b) 6 years.
(c) 2 years.
(d) 4 years.

3. How does August describe her friend Sylvia when she accidentally ran into her on the train years after leaving Brooklyn?
(a) Sylvia had not aged at all and was dressed in expensive clothing.
(b) Sylvia had a child on her lap and looked content.
(c) Sylvia had not aged at all and had reddish brown hair.
(d) Sylvia looked so different that August barely recognized her.

4. What did Gigi's mother say about Gigi's skin tone?
(a) Gigi should talk to a dermatologist about her acne.
(b) Gigi should should be proud of her skin tone.
(c) Gigi should stay out of the sun, so that her skin did not get any darker.
(d) Gigi should use tanning products.

5. At the start of Chapter 5, what does August say Gigi's mother said about Gigi?
(a) Gigi had to become an actress.
(b) Gigi could not play with August, because August was poor.
(c) Gigi should stay away from men on the streets.
(d) Gigi had her grandmother's eyes.

Short Answer Questions

1. As a young girl, why did August roam the streets at the start of Chapter 3?

2. What is the origin of August's birth name?

3. What was the color of the pullout sofa in August's childhood apartment?

4. How old was Gigi when she was raped by the soldier who slept in the stairwell of her building?

5. After leaving her brother and returning to their father's apartment after the funeral, how did August feel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Gigi want to be when she grew up? Why?

2. What are the circumstances of August's brother in the most-recent timeline in the novel?

3. What does the jar of ashes represent in the novel?

4. In what ways did August and her friends protect themselves from the streets when they were adolescents?

5. What does August say about the children of Biafra in 1968?

6. Why did August think that her mother would come to her in Brooklyn while growing up?

7. How does August describe her feelings about Sylvia when they were young?

8. What is the significance of the quote that opens the novel?

9. What is the Nation of Islam? How does it factor into the novel?

10. How is the novel structured? Is the story related in a linear fashion or nonlinear? Why is this important?

(see the answer keys)

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