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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. Where does Sam go sometimes to try to catch a glimpse of Ally?

2. In Chapter 5, what is the name of the first group meeting Sam goes to after the election?

3. What does Sam's husband do as soon as she tells him she is leaving him?

4. What does YAD stand for?

5. What does Sam's husband do for a living?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is one way, as Spiotta puts it, to understand what happens to Sam in Part I in terms of the upheaval in her life?

2. How does Sam afford the house she buys in Part I?

3. What happens when Sam goes to a community meeting in her new neighborhood?

4. What begins emerging as a source of tension between Ally and Sam early on in Ally's adolescence?

5. Who is Ally secreting seeing romantically, and why is this relationship secret?

6. In Chapter 14, what does Matt do for Sam that makes it harder for her to be angry with him?

7. Where does Sam end up meeting people she thinks are more like-minded in the realm of activism?

8. How are the house Sam buys and her decision to leave her husband related?

9. What does Matt seem to think Sam's decision to leave him might really be mostly about?

10. Why is Clara Loomis problematic as a historical figure?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Sam attempt to explain some of the more controversial aspects of Clara Loomis's life to visitors to the Clara Loomis House? How does Sam seem to feel about these controversies herself? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

What does Spiotta reveal about Sam's character with Sam's reaction to the Aadil Mapunda shooting? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How does Spiotta treat the topic of the effects of technology - especially social media and digital images - on relationships throughout this novel? Write an essay explaining your answers. citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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