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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. In which part of New York does Shahnaaz's family buy another gas station?

2. What does the old Italian give to Razia and her friends?

3. How does Razia's mother plan to get rid of the roaches in their home?

4. Who gave Aliza a clock radio?

5. What language does Saima's mother mostly speak?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Taslima's father's first job when he comes to America and how does he get fired?

2. Why does Razia's mother cry and get angry and become upset at the beginning of the chapter titled, "Cherry Tree"?

3. What is Saima and Razia's experience with the man at the can counting desk at Key Food?

4. What is Aliza's ambition after high school? what is her opinion about marrying a Pakistani man?

5. Later when Taslima and Razia come back around to Julio's house, why does he tell Razia and Taslima to leave?

6. What does Razia wonder about in relation to girls being allowed to go to masjid after seeing Ziyad be forgiven by Allah for killing Razia's pet cat?

7. Why are Saima and Razia collecting cans?

8. What does Saima say will crawl up Razia's leg and onto her stomach when she sleeps over Saima's house during the night that Razia's house is being fumigated to kill the roaches and what is it that really happens?

9. What happens to the kitten that the old Italian gives to Razia and her friends?

10. How does Razia's father react to the call to prayer from the Hafiz Saab and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Does Razia have a hard time leaving her community? Why does she not tell her parents about Angela? What is the choice that Razia seems to be avoiding by not telling her parents about Angela? How would the challenge be different if Razia was older and had a job and a place to live? How does being 15 and high school student inform Razia's decision to be secretive? How would the challenge of telling or not telling her parents be the same no matter what point of life Razia is in?

Essay Topic 2

Why are Razia's parents so unwavering and single-minded in their commitment to their community and their uninterest and even dislike in much of what the secular world has to offer? How does the fact that they have essentially transplanted a Pakistani village into the middle of Queens affect their outlook? Would Razia's parents have a different perspective if they were living in Pakistan where the temptation of the secular world would be much more minimal?

Essay Topic 3

Imagine that you are going to explain the plot, the meanings, and the layers of this book to someone who has not read this book or knows what it is about. Write an essay that talks about and summarizes what you think are the important things to know and think about in regard to the story.

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This section contains 934 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample