Reading Check questions are designed for in-class review on key plot points or for quick verbal or written assessments. Multiple Choice and Short Answer Quizzes create ideal summative assessments, and collectively function to convey a sense of the work’s tone and themes.

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. What is the one thing that the narrator, Julia, and Olga have in common?

2. What does Amá do that makes Julia feel embarrassed?

3. How did Olga die?

4. Who is Lorena?

5. Why does Amá want to give Julia a quinceañera?

6. How does Amá react when she finds Julia in Olga’s room?

7. What happens when Julia’s math teacher asks her to answer his question?

8. What item does Julia say that most Mexican mothers knit?

Multiple Choice

1. Consider the following quote from Chapter 1: “This was not the Olga I knew. Olga was as meek and fragile as a baby bird.” What literary device does the author use in this quote?

A) metaphor

B) simile

C) personification

D) anecdote

2. Julia’s decision to eat dinner at the restaurant is an example of what?

A) her obsession with Mexican food

B) her dedication to her sister’s legacy

C) her self-sufficiency in difficult times

D) her desire to learn how to cook

3. Which of the following best summarizes the interaction between Amá and Julia as they cook tortillas?

A) They are happy to make the most of their time together after Olga’s death.