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. Who finds Chava's number and talk to him on the phone?

2. What does the trapdoor in the hole lead to?

3. What does Atomiko consider himself to be?

4. What is the grafitti-filled rusting wall?

5. What kind of music does El Brujo play?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kinds of people are on the streets at night in Tijuana?

2. What is the front for the hole?

3. In Chapter Ten, what happens when the new bus arrives in Chapter Ten?

4. What are the friends shocked by on the way to Porfirio and Araceli's house?

5. How is the journey with the coyote?

6. What is in view when the four friends climb the steep bank by the wall?

7. What does Atomiko use his prized staff for?

8. In Chapter 15, where does Wino go before meeting the coyote?

9. What happens when Nayeli tries to contact Chava?

10. In Chapter 21, why do the migra agents release Tacho?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does the name of Tacho's Taqueria e Internet “La Mano Caída,” meaning The Fallen Hand Taco Shop and Internet Café, signify about his sexual identity? How does Tacho transform a derogatory idea into a gay pride stance?

Essay Topic 2

Nayeli and Tacho are surprised to be welcomed in Kankakee. What is the communities opinion of Mexicans? How is their experience unique there?

Essay Topic 3

Why do the four friends keep walking along the border fence when they know there is no magic pathway through? How does the author show the state of mind that they are in?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 525 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample