OCDaniel

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 1-4

Reading Check

1. How old is Daniel at the beginning of the novel?

2. What is the name of Daniel’s adventure story?

3. How many siblings does Daniel have?

4. Who tells Daniel to splash water on his face to feel better?

5. What is a frequent number for the steps Daniels takes during his nighttime routine?

Multiple Choice

1. Why does Daniel say he feels crazy?

A) He feels overwhelming anxiety when he encounters certain numbers.

B) He believes his friends don’t like him and doesn’t have a good reason for this belief.

C) He thinks his teammates are out to get him because he skipped practice.

D) He feels paranoid that his crush knows that he likes her despite his efforts to hide his feelings.

2. How does Daniel feel he and Steve are different?

A) Daniel is an athlete and Steve is interested in academics.

B) Daniel is interested in writing while Steve doesn’t like to write.

C) Daniel is quiet with a small friend group and Steve is popular with a girlfriend.

D) Daniel is a member of the track team and Steve is the star of the tennis team.

3. What does Daniel learn about star children in his research?

A) Star children are the students who get the best grades in school.

B) Star children are the students who excel the most at their extracurriculars and school.

C) Star children are the best performing actors in drama club.

D) Star children have special or unusual traits that are sometimes considered supernatural.

4. Why does Daniel say he must complete his nighttime routine before bed?

A) He says Emma appreciates the routine and he does it for her.

B) He says he feels like he won’t wake up in the morning if he doesn’t do it.

C) He says his parents will get mad if he doesn’t do the routine before bed.

D) He says he craves the routine, and it helps him to fall asleep every night.

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. What do other students at school call Sara and why?

2. Daniel’s main character does what in the story that he must fix?

3. Why does Daniel feel so sick in class that he visits the restroom?

4. What does Daniel do at the end of the nighttime routine before he falls asleep?

5. What does Daniel hesitate to ask Raya by the basketball court?

Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. Who asks Raya to the dance?

2. What does Daniel say is worse than heartache?

3. What does Raya say about Daniel’s hair at the dance?

4. Who tells Daniel that he’s like them?

Multiple Choice

1. How does Daniel offend Raya in his attempt to have intelligent conversation with her?

A) He asks her if she’s going to the dance and she’s annoyed that she keeps getting asked.

B) He rambles to her about football, and she doesn’t want to hear about it.

C) He asks her about politics in Iran and she responds that she’s Indian.

D) He tells her that she looks like a Barbie doll and she gets offended by his comparison.

2. What does Daniel’s mom tell him on the way to pick up Max for the dance?

A) She tells him that she will pick the boys up at 10pm and to have fun.

B) She asks if he really wants to go to the dance and who he wishes he could have asked.

C) She tells him that she doesn’t approve of Max and that his friend is a bad influence.

D) She tells him that he should be polite to the girls and ask the quiet girls to dance.

3. What happens during Daniel’s nighttime routine after the dance?

A) He fights with his mother about what she said in the car on the way to the dance.

B) He brushes his teeth so hard his gums bleed and washes his hands until they’re raw.

C) He refuses to read with Emma because he is mad about what happened at the dance.

D) He skips many steps during the routine because he keeps thinking about Raya.

4. Why does Daniel feel tingles running up and down his arms and feel his back straighten?

A) Sara says she watches him sometimes and that he’s very interesting.

B) His mom notices that he stays up late and says he needs to go to sleep earlier.

C) Steve confronts Max about his bedtime routine and wants to know why he does it.

D) Max says that Raya has been looking for him at school and wants to talk to him.

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. Why does Daniel decide that he needs to ask Steve for advice?

2. What does Daniel do at the dance that makes everyone look at him?

3. Why does Daniel think that Raya will never date him?

4. How does Sara make Daniel feel like he is not alone?

Chapters 9-12

Reading Check

1. Where does Daniel’s main character in his story go and what does he find?

2. Who tries to kiss Raya after the dance?

3. How does Daniel get a bloody nose?

4. What are Daniel and Sara doing when they hear footsteps approaching them?

Multiple Choice

1. How does Daniel’s main character reflect his own feelings as he writes?

A) His character rebels against his father, demonstrating Daniel’s feelings toward his dad.

B) His character is on a quest to find the perfect friend, illustrating Daniel’s feelings of isolation.

C) His character joins a fellow adventurer who reflects Daniel’s feelings for Emma.

D) His character erases humanity, reflecting Daniel’s own feelings of loneliness.

2. How does Sara interpret her mental health issues?

A) She calls herself a gifted child who knows more than everyone at school.

B) She calls herself a star child who has a pure heart and alien DNA.

C) She calls herself an expert in humanity and stays quiet while she watches others.

D) She calls herself a normal person around whom others are strange.

3. What inspires Steve and Daniel’s father to take more interest in Daniel’s life?

A) They find out that Daniel will be the football team’s new kicker and try to connect through football.

B) They find out that Daniel has hit puberty and try to give him advice on the changes he is experiencing.

C) They find out that Daniel has a new girlfriend and try to help him buy a gift for her to bring to school.

D) They find out that Daniel has been chosen as the school play’s star and criticize him for being a theater student.

4. Why does Sara say she thinks she created a strain on her parents’ relationship?

A) She says her parents couldn’t agree on why she sees the “portal men.”

B) She says her mom tried to “make her normal” while her father did not.

C) She says her parents wanted a son, but they had a daughter instead.

D) She says her father tried to fix her mental health issues, but her mother did not.

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. Why does Sara say that she can talk to Daniel but not to others?

2. What is Sara’s plan for how Daniel will help her get a writing sample?

3. What does Steve tell Daniel when he asks for advice about Raya?

4. How does Sara’s theorizing about John parallel Daniel’s fictional version of Sara?

Chapters 13-16

Reading Check

1. Where do Daniel and Sara hide?

2. Who invites Daniel to their house for dinner?

3. Who makes the winning touchdown of the football game?

4. What does Sara believe happened to her father?

Multiple Choice

1. How does Daniel feel when the “Great Space” swallows him up?

A) He feels motivated to write, greatly inspired to get his story out of his head.

B) He doesn’t feel anything, except like he can’t breathe or move, and zones out.

C) He feels angry and motivated to win against the team he’s playing against in football.

D) He feels giddy because he spent time with Raya and they both had fun.

2. What does Daniel think about his father, Max’s father, and Sara’s father?

A) that they are all disconnected and workaholics who don’t pay attention to their kids

B) that they are all related, and that Max and Sara are his cousins

C) that his father is present, while Max’s and Sara’s fathers have taken pieces of their kids

D) that his father is in sales, while Max’s and Sara’s fathers are in the military

3. How does Sara justify having Daniel meet John?

A) She says he will have “a chance to be normal.”

B) She says John is planning to marry her mom and she wants Daniel’s opinion.

C) She says that she “can’t be crazy if she’s the only one.”

D) She says Daniel will know whether John is good or bad when he meets him.

4. How does the barbeque make Daniel feel, and why?

A) He feels anxious that he’s missing time he could spend with Raya.

B) He feels satisfied that Taj didn’t play in the game and that he was the kicker.

C) He feels annoyed that Max makes a big deal about his dad attending the barbeque.

D) He feels accepted and that he wants to be normal more than anything else.

5. Why does Sara want Daniel’s help to visit John’s house again?

A) She says she wants to drop a phone in John’s house to record so she can prove he murdered her father.

B) She says she wants to help John move his furniture into her house so she and her mother can get used to his living with them.

C) She says she wants to see where she’s going to be moving to and to measure her future bedroom.

D) She says she needs to get her mom’s things out of John’s house since her mother broke up with him.

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. Why does Sara have a panic attack while talking to Daniel?

2. Why is Daniel’s father excited for the day ahead?

3. Who does Daniel think about before he kicks the football, and why?

4. Why do John and Sara speak to each other?

Chapters 17-20

Reading Check

1. Why is Daniel nervous?

2. What happens when Daniel gets “zapped”?

3. What films are being debated at Raya’s party?

4. What does Daniel’s football coach call him?

5. What did a classmate call Daniel after a teacher complimented his writing?

Multiple Choice

1. What does Daniel do that causes Sara to stop talking to him?

A) He says that he will be at Raya’s party and will go to pick up the phone after he leaves.

B) He says that she is crazy, and he doesn’t want to be seen with her at school.

C) He tells her that he likes her, and she doesn’t feel the same and distances herself.

D) He asks her for advice on how to talk to Raya and how to ask Raya on a date.

2. How does Sara react to Daniel’s anxiety attack while they hide at John’s?

1. She tells him to get over it and that he’s weaker than she thought.

2. She tells him that she no longer wants his help with trying to find out about John.

3. She tells him that she likes him and wants to date him.

4. She tells him that he must pay a price for being special.

3. Why has everyone been sent into an alternate reality except the main character and Sara’s fictional counterpart in Daniel’s story?

A) Charlie says they were separated so they could find him and bring him to the computer.

B) Sara’s fictional counterpart says they are special, so they weren’t sent like the others.

C) The main character finds out that the story so far has just been him dreaming.

D) Sara’s fictional counterpart says that they were chosen to fix the computer.

4. What does Daniel finally realize about himself and his “zaps”?

A) He has OCD and his “zaps” are how he loses control.

B) He has OCD and his “zaps” are caused by depression.

C) He has OCD and his “zaps” are caused by anxiety.

D) He has OCD and his “zaps” are caused by exhaustion.

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. What does Sara tell Daniel as they realize John will return home while they’re there?

2. Why does Raya’s father shout at her?

3. Why does Daniel cry after Sara shares the recording from John’s house with him?

4. What does Sara admit to Daniel?

Chapters 21-24

Reading Check

1. What are people now calling Daniel at school?

2. What does Daniel realize about Sara after dinner with his family?

3. Where does Daniel find Sara after searching for her?

4. What do Sara and Daniel find in John’s house?

Multiple Choice

1. What does Daniel think about mental illness?

A) He thinks it isn’t something he needs to worry about, and that Sara is too concerned.

B) He wonders if he is related to someone with mental health struggles like him.

C) He wonders if he has a mental illness for a reason or if something is broken.

D) He thinks about how no one talks about mental illness or what it is.

2. How does Sara’s fictional character parallel her relationship with Daniel?

A) Sara tells him she likes someone else at school and fictional Sara abandons the main character during their journey.

B) Sara says she doesn’t want Daniel’s help with John anymore and fictional Sara betrays the main character and teams up with the “portal men.”

C) Sara tells him she only talked to her dad before Daniel, and fictional Sara saves the main character from the “portal men,” reflecting the comfort he feels with her.

D) Sara tells him she is moving in with John and fictional Sara reveals that she isn’t special like she told the main character.

3. Why don’t the police believe Daniel when he explains the situation about John?

A) They say Daniel has no evidence and that they know John to be a good guy.

B) They say John is an undercover cop and that Sara is making up stories about John.

C) They say that Daniel is trying to cause problems with their investigation.

D) They say that Sara has gone missing before and that her theory about John is wrong.

4. Why does John want to hide a letter?

A) The letter is from Sara’s father and says that he moved to live with his new family.

B) The letter is from Sara’s father and says that he will be coming home.

C) The letter is from Sara’s mom and says she will be sending Sara to boarding school.

D) The letter is from Sara’s mom and asks for help with Sara’s father.

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. Why is Kevin mad at Daniel?

2. Why does Daniel realize his feelings for Sara have changed?

3. Why does Sara say she ran away to the field?

4. What does Sara’s mother ask John to do in addition to helping her with Sara’s father?

Chapters 25-27

Reading Check

1. What happened to Sara’s father?

2. Where do Sara, John, and Daniel go to visit her father?

3. What happens at the end of Daniel’s novel?

4. What does Daniel do before he starts his nighttime routine?

Multiple Choice

1. Why, according to John, didn’t Sara’s mother tell the truth about her father’s passing?

A) He says that Sara’s mother was angry that her father left and wouldn’t talk about him.

B) He says that Sara’s father had depression and took the same medication that Sara does.

C) He says that Sara’s father began a new family, and her mother didn’t want her to be hurt.

D) He says that Sara’s mother was tired of people judging what happened with her father.

2. Why does Sara say she does not believe she’s really a star child?

A) She realizes that she has depression like her father, and her issues are genetic.

B) She realizes her mother kept her from becoming special like Daniel.

C) She says she lost what made her a star child and that she’s normal now.

D) She says therapy has helped her to see that she wasn’t a star child to begin with.

3. How does Daniel’s ending show how he feels about his real life?

A) The main character says he doesn’t want to fight anymore, and Daniel doesn’t want to fight with his mental health anymore in real life.

B) The main character says he no longer feels alone, and Daniel doesn’t feel alone anymore in real life.

C) The main character says he wants a new challenge, and Daniel wants something new to write about in real life.

D) The main character says he found true love, and Daniel finally realizes his feelings for Sara in real life.

4. Why does Daniel lie down before he starts his nighttime routine?

A) He promised his mother to help with Emma before they go to bed.

B) He promised his father that he would try to fight the routine more often.

C) He promised Sara that he would text her so she could help him through his routine.

D) He promised John that he would email him a draft of his book to review.

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. What did Sara’s father do to cope with his depression?

2. Why, according to John, did Sara’s mother conceal what really happened to her father?

3. What does Daniel feel is the most important part of his book?

4. Why does Sara hug Daniel?