The House on the Gulf

Bran became attentive when Britt found ___________ in the cupboard.

• twenty-year-old news clippings

• sealed letters addressed to "B. Lassiter"

• old plastic glasses and dishes

• rusty cans filled with foreign coins

Why did Britt first go to Mrs. Stuldy's house?

• to offer to weed her flower bed

• to ask if she had seen her cat

• to look for a baby-sitting job

• to give her a letter mistakenly left by the mailman

What did Bran do with an Eckerd's sale circular?

• He studied ads to find something to help Mom stay awake while studying

• He showed Britt which canned goods to buy when she went there

• He ripped out a page and tucked it into his pants pocket

• He covered up the windows of the storage shed with it

Why didn't Mrs. Stuldy go to the senior center?

• The annual activity fee was too expensive for her

• The women there made comments about her son, who was in prison

• Her husband was bedridden and needed constant care

• She couldn't walk very well and had no way of getting there

Why had Mom left home to run away with the father of Britt and Bran?

• He was joining the army, and she couldn't bear to be away from him

• Her parents read her diary and attacked her dream of being a doctor

• Her parents threatened to put her baby up for adoption when it was born

• She hated her stepfather, who had physically abused her

After Britt read Mom's high school transcript, she knew that Mom __________________.

• was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marcus

• had grown up right there in Gulfstone, Florida

• was actually two years younger than she said she was

• had skipped many classes in high school

What did Britt discover in the Marcuses' photo albums?

• Mrs. Marcus was an Asian woman and much younger than her husband

• There were no pictures of Mom, not even as a baby or little girl

• The Marcuses appeared to own a very fancy ranch in Colorado

• Every photo of Mom was paired with a Bible verse about forgiveness

While Britt was hiding out from her customers, Mrs. Stuldy came by to_______________.

• tell her that Mr. Marcus had died

• ask if Bran could cut her lawn

• warn her that Mrs. Marcus was in town

• invite Britt to watch a video with her

After Mrs. Marcus's sudden visit, Britt and Bran learned that ________________.

• they had inherited a great deal of money from Mr. Marcus.

• Mrs. Stuldy had been reporting all their activities to Mrs. Marcus.

• Mom had refused to accept her parents' letters for many years

• the Marcuses who Bran had found on the Internet were the wrong ones

How was Mom going to be able to afford college?

• She won a scholarship that was available only to single mothers

• Mrs. Marcus hired her to care for her aged mother on weekends

• The senior center members were having fundraising dances for her

• She had earned grants for her academic achievement