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.

Because the structure of this novel prevents readers from knowing the ending too soon, the short answer and multiple-choice questions in this section will presume students have not read the entire novel. Questions that teachers can use after students have read the entire novel are in the section titled “CUMULATIVE REVIEW.”

Chapters 1-8

Reading Check

1. Name the show Miranda’s mom will participate in.

2. Why does Richard tap his right knee?

3. Where does Miranda’s name come from?

4. Where do Miranda and her mother hide the spare key?

5. How long have Miranda and Sal been friends?

6. What does Miranda do if she has to walk past a stranger that makes her nervous?

Short-Answer Response

Answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence or sentences. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does the author hint that Sal’s friendship is important to Miranda?

2. Describe Miranda’s life with her mother. What details does the author include to make Miranda’s life as a latchkey kid in New York City in the 1970s more real?