Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, and quizzes.

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. What is Minerva’s dream as a child?

2. What is Sinita’s secret?

3. Why does Lina leave school?

4. What happens at the end of the pageant honoring Trujillo?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text.

1. Why is Dedé’s photo not on the wall of family photos?

2. What does Minerva realize when she tries to free the caged rabbit?

3. What does “loyalty performance” mean?

4. How does Mate’s perception of Trujillo change after meeting Hilda?

Paired Resources

“Rafael Trujillo”

• Introductory information on Trujillo and his 40-year regime in the Dominican Republic
• How do the stories of Sinita and Lina define conditions in the Trujillo’s dictatorship?

“Dominican Republic: The Church Bends”

• This Time magazine article from 1961 describes the relationship between Trujillo and the Catholic Church. The article connects to the novel’s theme of Religion.
• Why did the people of the Dominican Republic hang photos of Trujillo next to pictures of Christ?

Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. What event causes Patria to lose her faith in God?

2. What does Mamá reveal to Patria when they go on the pilgrimage?

3. Why does Mamá change her opinion about Minerva’s friend Lio?

4.