Part 1, Chapters 1-6

Reading Check

1. Lupita (Part 1, Chapter 1 “The Story of Us”)

2. A mesquite (Part 1, Chapter 2 “Thorns”)

3. Nun (Part 1, Chapter 6 “The Sacrifice”)

Short Answer

1. Mami hides the fact that she has cancer from the children. (Part 1, Chapter 4 “Chismosa”)

2. Lupita tells Mireya that they can no longer be friends when Mireya insists that Mami will inevitably die from the cancer. (Part 1, Chapter 5 “The Talk”)

3. Mami believes that Lupita is a gifted writer and plans for her to attend community college. (Part 1, Chapter 6 “The Sacrifice”)

Part 2, Chapters 7-12

Reading Check

1. Papi (Part 2, Chapter 8 “The Gift of Words”)

2. Uprooted (Part 2, Chapter 9 “Uprooted”)

3. Pearls on a necklace (Part 2, Chapter 11 “Sisters”)

Short Answer

1. Mami feels that her children are lucky to live in los Estados Unidos because now they have “two homes”: They belong to both Mexico and the United States and can speak both Spanish and English, meaning that they will have a home on either side of the border. (

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