1. What does Frannie say about their parents decision not to have an operation that might have made Sean hear and about what her mother sometimes does to Sean's ears?

2. What does Frannie remember about the baby that didn't "thrive", and what is another memory of someone using that word?

3. What does Frannie say about Sean's ability to dance and how she sometimes wished she could live in silence.

4. What does Frannie say about miracles and what is the miracle that happens in her own life?

5. What does Maribel say about the lunch and what is the comparison she makes to another cafeteria?

6. What does the new boy say when Frannie asks what it was like to live on the other side of the highway.

7. Describe what Frannie sees at the corner of North Conduit and Eastbay Road.

8. What does Frannie say about the new boy's appearance as he looks around the room?

9. How was Trevor injured?

10. What are the reactions of Samantha and Maribel when the new boy signs to answer the question posed by Trevor and Rayray?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There is a division among blacks and whites even though segregation has been outlawed. Did this situation exist in the 1970s? What has changed since that time?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the social setting for the story. What are the attitudes of blacks and whites toward each other? What are the attitudes of most people toward people with disabilities, such as deafness?

Essay Topic 3

Describe how Frannie's relationship with the new boy changes over the course of the book. Why does it change? Samantha's thoughts about the new boy also change over the course of the book. Are the changes similar? Are they prompted by the same thing?

(see the answer keys)

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