A Familiar Face (Our Family Ghost #5)

A Familiar Face (Our Family Ghost #5)

Something, Imelda thought, was wrong with Manuel.

Usually, her son was bursting with energy and bouncing from one thing to the next. He was a curious boy with a lot of joy to share, and she loved that about him. That’s why Imelda had been happy to help Manuel host a boodle fight for his friends, and to take him and his pal Jian hiking up the mountains recently.

But lately her only child hadn’t been energetic or joyful. Lately, whenever something odd happened around the house—food burning, lamps breaking, books tumbling—he seemed dismayed.

“Is something wrong?” she would ask, but he only shook his head, said, “It’s nothing,” and went back to his room.

Could it be that he feels lonely? she wondered. Only a few weeks earlier, the entire Delacruz clan had gathered to celebrate their ancestor José— the first time in ages that everyone had been together. Maybe he was lonely for all those cousins and aunts and uncles. That must be it, Imelda decided—Manuel misses his family.

“Manuel!” she told him the next morning at breakfast, “I’ve got a great idea. We’re going to have a karaoke party with the family next weekend!”

Multiple Choice

What does Imelda do to cheer Manuel up?

• She takes him and Jian on a big hiking trip.

• She throws a karaoke party for the family.

• She prepares a boodle fight for his friends.

• She talks to him about what’s on his mind.

Manuel wasn’t sure why his mom was throwing a karaoke party—there were no birthdays or holidays coming up. But why not? After all, he did enjoy being with his entire family at José’s celebration…at least until he saw José’s ghost, anyway.

Jian was enthusiastic when he heard about the party: “For one thing, if your grandpa Claudio comes, you can ask him more about José,” he told Manuel.

Yes, Manuel thought, it would be a good opportunity to further investigate the mystery of José’s regrets. He and Jian had already spent weeks mulling over how to complete the latest task from José—apparently, he needed to hear his daughter sing again—but they had no idea what to do. Maybe Grandpa would have an idea about how they could get a dead woman to sing and help José rest in peace at last.

The day of the party, Manuel eagerly helped his mom set up the karaoke system. She smiled to see him feeling so enthusiastic about something. Soon, their home was packed full of Delacruzes, and Manuel felt happy to watch his aunts playing cards and his uncles toasting to each other’s health. But he couldn’t help but feel distracted by the lingering questions about what to do for José.

Even during this party, strange things kept happening. His Tita Gloria tripped on someone’s foot and accidentally dropped her entire plate of food, making a mess in the dining room. His cousin Raya’s dog somehow got off his leash and made a mess in the living room.

“I can’t let things keep going on like this,” Manuel thought. “We’ve got to resolve the curse now.” He decided to start by getting some help.

“Grandpa Claudio? Grandpa Claudio!” With the party in full swing, Manuel went searching for his grandfather—and quickly found him by the buffet, snacking on pancit noodles.

“Oh, Manuel! I brought something for you,” his grandfather said, before Manuel could even get out one word. He was carrying a large book, and gestured to Manuel to join him on the living room couch.

“You seemed interested in our family curse, anak, so I wanted to show you more about José,” he said, and began flipping through what turned out to be a photo album. The pages were crammed with black-and-white photos, nearly all of them of their ancestor: José at the port, in the fields, dropping a little girl off at school.

Wait. The little girl looked kind of familiar…

Multiple Choice

How is Manuel feeling when strange things keep happening during the party?

• He feels scared and tries to leave so he doesn’t have to deal with José anymore.

• He feels responsible for figuring out how to stop them from happening.

• He feels confused because he thought he had solved all of José’s tasks already.

• He feels upset and tries to go to sleep so he can talk to José in his dreams.

Open Ended

Why does Claudio show Manuel the photo album?

“Is that Gemalyn?” Manuel asked, pointing at the young girl standing next to José.

“Yes, that’s his daughter. When José got old, she took care of him in the same loving way he had taken care of her. Sometimes she’d cook for him, sometimes sing for him,” Claudio said, then started to softly sing a tune that Manuel immediately recognized.

“Grandpa, you know ‘Bituing Marikit’?” Manuel said, his eyes growing wide.

Claudio laughed. “Of course! We use it as a lullaby in our family.”

Hearing that, Manuel felt one step closer to a solution. Of course, Claudio wasn’t Gemalyn, and his singing the song wasn’t the answer. But now, he felt confident for the first time that he could figure out what the answer was.

Manuel continued to flip through the pages of the photo album, then gasped when he saw a photo of aged José and a grown Gemalyn. She looked exactly like his mom Imelda—almost like they could be twins! It made sense, because they were family after all… So, Imelda singing—well it had to be the solution, it just had to be!

The only question was… would the ghost of José agree?

Multiple Choice

Read the following sentences from the text.

“’Is that Gemalyn?’ Manuel asked, pointing at the young girl standing next to José.

‘Yes, that’s his daughter. When José got old, she took care of him in the same loving way he had taken care of her. Sometimes she’d cook for him, sometimes sing for him,’ Claudio said….Manuel continued to flip through the pages of the photo album, then gasped when he saw a photo of aged José and a grown Gemalyn. She looked exactly like his mom Imelda—almost like they could be twins! It made sense, because they were family after all…”

What conclusion can you draw from this evidence?

• Manuel realizes that he has known Gemalyn all along because she is his aunt that goes by another name.

• Manual remembers that his family has an old recording of Gemalyn singing “Bituing Marikit.”

• Manuel is upset when he sees that Gemalyn’s face doesn’t show clearly in the photos either.

• Manuel does not recognize that Gemalyn looks like Imelda until he sees an older picture of her.

Multiple Choice

Why does Manuel think that Claudio singing “Bituing Marikit” isn’t the solution but Imelda singing might be?

• because Claudio doesn’t sing well

• because Claudio sings in English

• because Imelda looks like Gemalyn

• because Imelda is a good singer

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of this text?

• Manuel is stuck on how to solve José’s task until his mom throws a karaoke party and he realizes that his mom and José’s daughter look alike.

• Grandpa Claudio brings a family photo album to the karaoke party because he knows that Manuel has been interested in the family curse lately.

• Manuel and Jian have been trying to solve José’s task for weeks but Manuel is disappointed because they haven’t been able to.

• Imelda throws a karaoke party and invites Manuel's cousins, aunts, and uncles because she likes to see her family and sing with them.

Multiple Choice

Read the following sentences from the text.

“Manuel continued to flip through the pages of the photo album, then gasped when he saw a photo of aged José and a grown Gemalyn. She looked exactly like his mom Imelda—almost like they could be twins! It made sense, because they were family after all… So, Imelda singing—well it had to be the solution, it just had to be!”

As used in this excerpt, what does the word “exactly” most closely mean?

• adventurous

• for a quick moment

• in every way

• scared and worried

Multiple Choice

Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.

Manuel has been stuck on how to solve his ancestor José’s request for weeks ________ things start to change at the karaoke party.

• also

• first

• until

• never

Open Ended

How does Manuel’s family share their culture and history with him?

Open Ended

How does Manuel’s family support him in this story? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.