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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. What is the street address of Melissa's house?

2. What does Michael do for a living?

3. Who is Melissa's and Michael's neighbor who gets confused and sometimes wanders outside?

4. What does Melissa particularly hate about cleaning her house in Chapter 3?

5. Which childcare author and expert does Melissa try to follow the advice of?

Short Essay Questions

1. What game does Ria want to play with Damian's and Stephanie's children in Chapter 3?

2. How did the Crystal Palace meet its ruin?

3. Why does Mrs. Jackson need help in Chapter 3?

4. What game does Michael play on the bus on his work commute?

5. What is a large source of problems in Damian's and Stephanie's relationship?

6. What tragic event from the Civil Rights era does the image of the Obama children from the 2008 U.S. presidential election evoke for Evans' characters in London?

7. Why do the Wiley brothers throw a party in Chapter 1?

8. When do both Michael and Melissa realize their date is a total disaster in Chapter 7?

9. What does Michael end up talking to Rachel, the receptionist at his office, about in Chapter 6?

10. What is the short poem that begins the novel about, and who wrote it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do the origins and early days of Melissa's and Michael's relationship, and the dynamics therein, predict some of the problems the two experience much later on? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 2

What are the central differences between Melissa's and Stephanie's approaches, attitudes, and comfort levels with motherhood and the ideas of traditional gender roles? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Why does Damian seem to be having so much trouble facing his feelings about his father's death, and how does this failure to face his feelings affect his relationship with his wife? Write an essay explaining your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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