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. What does Kenny think when they first arrive in the city where Grandma lives?

2. What does Kenny do when he sees his reflection in the mirror in Chapter 15?

3. Who does Kenny think caused the big boom?

4. Why does Kenny have a hard time sleeping in Alabama?

5. What once tried to drown the hunting dog?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Grandma warn the children not to go, and why?

2. What saps the energy out of Kenny in Alabama?

3. Why does Kenny feel he won a small victory during the car ride in Chapter 9?

4. In Chapter 11, how does Kenny realize how long they have really been in the car?

5. What does Kenny hear after Joey goes to church in Chapter 14, and what does Dad think caused it?

6. What does Kenny see when he gets to the church to find Joey?

7. What scares the kids when they get out of the car for the second time during the trip?

8. How does Momma prepare for the trip to Alabama?

9. What was Kenny ashamed about after the bombing?

10. What is true about the church bombing in this book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are the family dynamics of the Watson family, and how do these relationships change over the course of the plot?

Essay Topic 2

Kenny has a somewhat negative view of his intellect. Where does this view come from, and how has this affected his personality and his place in the school?

Essay Topic 3

What kind of social codes were disobeyed in this book, and how did this lack of observance affect the main characters in the book?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 662 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample