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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. When Bradley breaks up with Marion, he tells her she was what?

2. Becky is in what grade at high school?

3. Who opens the door at Isabelle’s apartment, when Marion goes there for help being pregnant?

4. What disease kills Shirley?

5. When Clem is stressed about college school work, what does he do instead of studying?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Perry say that he is “damned” at the Haefle party, when he gets caught getting drunk by his mother?

2. What happens to Sharon when Clem breaks up with him?

3. Why does Russ wear his old work coat when he is around Frances?

4. Marion always said that Shirley had no use for women, and only wanted men in her life. How does Marion end up being the same way in her own life?

5. Why did Perry and other teenagers at the Haefle party sneak and drink the adult vodka mixed drink gløgg?

6. What effect does the author present by mentioning Russ’s “humiliation” in the early pages of the book, but not explaining what happened for several hundred pages into the reading?

7. How does Clem realize Russ is “blackening” Rick Ambrose’s name?

8. Who does Becky go to Crossroads group meetings with first?

9. How is Judson treated as a character in the novel?

10. Why does Marion still feel obsessed with Bradley 30 years after their love affair?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay on two scenes where there are encounters with angels mentioned by a character in the novel. Do these characters believe that they saw real angels, or someone who just acted angelic towards the character experiencing the event in question?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining the development of the relationship with siblings Clem and Becky. How did their close brother and sister relationship change to move them apart during the course of the novel? Why did Becky grow to hate Clem, and what brought them back together at the end of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that states the reasons why Becky felt that she needed to leave her family and go to Europe on the money inheritance that she received from her dearly departed Aunt Shirley. How did her family feel about her wanting to go to Europe for the summer?

(see the answer keys)

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