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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. At what time of year does Lina's relationship with her high school boyfriend start to wane?

2. Why does Lina go to a party with a boy, a friend, whom she does not really know very well in the first section of the book focused on her?

3. What movie does Lina see the very first time she goes out with the boy she has an intense crush on in high school?

4. Where does Lina often meet her high school boyfriend for trysts?

5. Which adult at school does Maggie confide in about what happened to her in Hawaii?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Sloane react when she and Richard and Karin have their first threesome?

2. What does Aaron Knodel's defense lawyer ask Maggie about in Part I on the stand that the state's prosecution lawyer objects to?

3. Why do Sloane and Richard decide to start their own restaurant in Newport?

4. What is Lina slightly turned off by at the end of her first sexual encounter with Aidan when they begin their affair?

5. What happens to Lina in high school that changes the rest of her life and makes the rest of high school very difficult?

6. In the Prologue, what is Taddeo horrified to hear her own mother endured every day for a time as a young woman in Italy?

7. What does Lina sometimes find herself asking Ed to try to make up for her husband's emotional and physical detachment?

8. Why does Maggie dress and do her makeup carefully as she prepares for her first day attending the trial of Aaron Knodel?

9. In Part I, what does 15 year-old Lina want more than anything else?

10. What does Mr. Knodel tell Maggie about what happened to her in Hawaii?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The three women Taddeo chooses to focus this book upon are all white, heterosexual, and cisgender. Do you think Taddeo's work would have been strengthened if she had included more diverse female perspectives and experiences? Write an essay explaining why or why not.

Essay Topic 2

One central theme Taddeo examines throughout each of the three women's narratives is the loss of innocence. Write an essay analyzing Taddeo's approach to the exploration of this theme through the stories of each of her three main subjects - Maggie, Lina, and Sloane.

Essay Topic 3

How does Lina handle her problems and frustrations with her husband, Ed? Why is Lina so upset with her therapist's advice, and what further steps do her feelings of frustration and upset after visiting the therapist lead her to take? Write an essay explaining your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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