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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. Verena explains that the Calliope House used to serve as what type of organization between the 1920s and the 1970s?
(a) An orphanage.
(b) A wedding reception hall.
(c) A house for unwed mothers.
(d) A dentistry practice.

2. How old is Verena?
(a) In her early 30s.
(b) In her late 40s.
(c) In her late 30s.
(d) In her early 50s.

3. What is lying across Plum's bed that embarrasses Plum the first time Verena visits Plum's apartment?
(a) A new yellow sweater much too small for Plum.
(b) A new black skirt much too small for Plum.
(c) A pile of candy bar wrappers.
(d) A new red dress much too small for Plum.

4. Plum says that after bariatric surgery, "in one year, it would be possible to lose more than" (7) how many pounds?
(a) 200.
(b) 100.
(c) 225.
(d) 150.

5. What is the name of the woman who has an angry outburst at the Baptist Diet meeting and leaves?
(a) Leeta.
(b) Kitty.
(c) Verena.
(d) Janine.

Short Answer Questions

1. What types of meetings does Plum attend in the basement of a church?

2. How does Plum describe the hair of the girl who has been following her?

3. Why does Plum turn down Carmen's invitation to join Carmen and her girlfriend for dinner?

4. How many years has it been since Plum set foot inside her childhood home on Harper Lane?

5. In which year of college does Plum have a nervous breakdown caused by heartbreak over a boy?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Plum say has always been her mother's perspective regarding Plum's body?

2. How does Janine's outburst at the Baptist Diet meeting foreshadow Plum's own coming changes?

3. What act does Dr. Ormond Brown believe has precipitated the murders of Michael Simmons and Davis Green?

4. What does Plum mean when she says that it takes her awhile to "fully inhabit" (83) her New York life again after she finishes speaking to her mother on the phone?

5. How does the author portray Eulayla Baptist's husband Allen as playing a major role in her torturous weight loss plan?

6. What is the identifying feature of Leeta's appearance?

7. What has always been Plum's dream career?

8. What is ironic about Plum's reaction to her encounter with Janine at the Baptist Diet meeting?

9. What information does Julia reveal about Leeta during her first meeting with Plum?

10. What significant event happens in the spring of Plum's junior year of high school?

(see the answer keys)

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