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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 do Liz and Marlee decide to do their project on?

2. How does Marlee cut her finger when she and Judy go to the rock crusher?

3. How does Marlee get to school every day?

4. What does Marlee discover about Liz that persuades her to want to work with Liz?

5. What does Marlee tell her mother is the reason she is upset when she gets home on Halloween?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Marlee's fear of jumping off the high dive in Chapter 1 represent?

2. Why is Marlee disappointed with JT's behavior on the first day she meets him to help him with his math homework?

3. What does Marlee notice about the scientists she sees on T.V. who are involved in space exploration?

4. How does Marlee's father react when Marlee's mother tells him she has accepted a position to teach at a private school?

5. How does Marlee find out what really happened to Liz that prevents her from coming back to school?

6. What does Marlee do to cope with her anxiety when she is expected to speak to new people?

7. Why does Marlee choose to remain friends with Sally, even though Sally sometimes makes fun of her and mistreats her?

8. Why does Marlee's father refuse to let Judy go to a private school?

9. Why does Judy make Marlee promise to say at least one full sentence on her first day of school?

10. Why does Marlee assign a drink to each person in her life that represents that person's personality?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How did Levine's choice to tell the story solely from Marlee's point of view affect the audience's understanding of the book's themes? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 2

When pro-segregation protesters rallied against integration in Little Rock in 1958, Marlee's father remembers that they caused terrible disruption and fear, largely because the local police did not deter or arrest them. But in 1959, Marlee and her father witness the police responding much more effectively to the segregationists, making many arrests and clearing the streets (286). Write an essay exploring why Levine chose to close the book with this scene and the tone she was likely trying to convey in doing so.

Essay Topic 3

Marlee's relationship with her mother seems to be improving, but it suffers a big setback when Mrs. Nisbett becomes a substitute teacher in Marlee's class. Write an essay analyzing the events that lead to heightened tensions between Marlee and her mother as a result of Mrs. Nisbett's substitute teaching.

(see the answer keys)

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