IMPORTANT: Comprehension questions will be in chronological order as you read through the story. Page numbers are approximate, and will vary with different editions of the book.
Section 1: Chapters 1-4
Vocabulary
allegro: a quick tempo in music
tenacity: very determined in a task
catastrophe: a disastrous or destructive event
exasperate: to irritate someone
annihilate: to destroy something completely
ambivalent: having mixed feelings about someone or something
coherent: logical and clear
Vocabulary Usage in the Book
I listened to the crickets and tree frogs outside in their little breeze and started fingering the Allegro ma non troppo part of the last movement of the Mozart concerto on my chest. (Ch. 2, pg. 34)
“Tenacity…” (Ch. 1, pg. 10)
I was just crossing the Kaplans’ lawn when a catastrophe struck me… (Ch. 1, pg. 11)
He’s exasperating. (Ch. 1, pg. 12)
“…That didn’t annihilate your whole head or anything; you didn’t go around looking for razor blades…” (Ch. 1, pg. 13)
She said she just wanted to be alone for a few minutes “to try to find some coherence.” (Ch. 3, pg. 54)
Comprehension Questions
A cadenza is when the violin plays alone, and there are three cadenzas in Mozart’s Fourth Concerto in D. (Ch. 1, pg. 3)
Double strokes are two notes played at once on different strings. (Ch. 1, pg. 4)
Mr. Kaplan wants Allegra to remember that Mr. Bloch had tenacity, fearlessness, and a great soul. (Ch. 1, pg. 10)
Allegra thinks it will be a catastrophe if she doesn’t play in the competition because then she will be just another boring violin student and won’t get noticed by Joel Smirnoff. (Ch. 1, pg. 11)
Allegra says you can always pick out a violinist in the crowd by the bruise on their neck caused by the chin rest on their instruments. (Ch. 1, pg. 19)
Allegra thinks of the man dancing in the crowd when she is trying to sleep. (Ch. 2, pg. 27)
Allegra’s great grandmother died at Treblinka during the Holocaust. (Ch. 2, pg. 31)
The first thing that Allegra plans to do before the Bloch competition is to memorize her concerto. (Ch. 3, pg. 41
Mr. Kaplan wants Allegra to be in “partnership” with her concerto in order to grow closer to Mozart. (Ch. 3, pg. 50)
Allegra likes the Green Violinist because is looks like the man is making the music fly into the air. (Ch. 3, pg. 54)
Deidre says Allegra must remember everything she’s learned about her music, and forget it at the same time in order to make the music her own. (Ch. 3, pg. 58)
In addition to playing sections loud, Allegra also practices playing sections softly. (Ch. 4, pg. 68)
Allegra and Deidre discover that the sculture makes different tones when you strike it in different places. (Ch. 4, pg. 71)
Deidre means that music already exists, and is merely discovered by people. pg. 75
Section 2: Chapters 5-8
Vocabulary
hinterland: an uncharted area beyond a body of water
bewilder: to cause someone to be amazed or confused
maniac: someone who acts wild or violent
imbecile: a dumb person
irresponsible: making rash decisions
inspire: to make someone want to do something
unique: one of a kind, or unlike anything else
Vocabulary Usage in the Book
“How’d you like the hinterland?” he said. (Ch. 6, pg. 106)
I think I was bewildered. (Ch. 8, pg. 126)
She wasn’t a maniac being made happy by murder. (Ch. 8, pg. 126)
“…It makes you imbecile…” (Ch. 8, pg. 138)
“…Anything irresponsible?” (Ch. 8, pg. 125)
“You kind of inspired us.” (Ch. 7, pg. 116)
It’s called I’m Unique: everybody has to tell unique things about themselves. (Ch. 8, pg. 129)
Comprehension Questions
Mozart had written so much music during his life that there was no particular order to the pieces after he died. (Ch. 5, pg. 78)
Allegra’s father believes that the wonderful voice is what is really inside of Deidre. (Ch. 5, pg. 81)
Allegra wonders what it is that brings the music out of the man’s instrument. (Ch. 5, pg. 92)
Cadenzas were different in Mozart’s time in that the musician was supposed to improvise and the part was not written down. (Ch. 6, pg. 98)
Mr. Kaplan thinks that the spirit is wonderful in community orchestras. (Ch. 6, pg. 103)
Allegra had forgotten that anyone else was there, which made the second movement cadenza sound unusually beautiful. (Ch. 6, pg. 107)
Physics make performing outside difficult because it makes strings go out of tune and makes it hard for people to hear depending on where they’re sitting. (Ch. 7, pg. 112)
Jessica thinks that the dancing man is lonely. (Ch. 7, pg. 113)
After dancing with the dancing man, Jessica tells Allegra that his name is Trouble. (Ch. 7, pg. 114)
Allegra goes for a bike ride when she needs to relax at 12:22 a.m. (Ch. 7, pg. 120)
If Allegra’s mother’s orchestra is locked out, she will have to play the competition in the afternoon and a concert that same night. (Ch. 8, pg. 127)
The girls’ teacher sometimes calls them the “Three Weird Sisters.” (Ch. 8, pg. 129)
The dancing man tells Allegra that he has lost his “Waltz Tree” song. (Ch. 8, pg. 137)
According to Jessica, bamboo is a symbol for bending but not breaking. (Ch. 8, pg. 142)
Section 3: Chapters 9-11
Vocabulary
nuance: a subtle difference in the sound of music
pernicious: having a subtle but harmful effect on something
flippant: lacking a respectful attitude
delirious: in a wildly excited state of mind
savagery: fierceness
upstage: to steal attention from something
mete: to punish
Vocabulary Usage in the Book
“I’m into nuances.” (Ch. 11, pg. 178)
“All the pernicious things out there,” my father said, accusing me. (Ch. 9, pg. 145)
“Allegra Leah, this is not something you can be flippant about,” Daddy said. (Ch. 9, pg. 149)
And how she got so delirious. (Ch. 9, pg. 159)
It was this savagery in joking that frightened us all. (Ch. 10, pg. 169)
“Don’t upstage the nineteen-year-old boy who gave us this concerto.” (Ch. 10, pg. 163)
“Punishments for being Jewish were meted, small ridicules and then larger ridicules.” (Ch. 10, pg. 168)
Comprehension Questions
David asks his parents to worry less about what she will be in the futre, and notice what she is now. (Ch. 9, pg. 151)
Allegra thinks her mother saves insect’s lives because they are alive one minute and dead the next. (Ch. 9, pg. 151)
Allegra realizes that her parents are terrified of losignt heir loved ones. (Ch. 9, pg. 152)
Allegra discovers that her new stand partner will be playing at the Bloch finals. (Ch. 9, pg. 156)
Allegra says that hitting a wrong not interrupts your concentration. (Ch. 10, pg. 160)
Allegra thinks that watching Steve play pushed her out of bed abnormally early. (Ch. 10, pg. 160)
Mrs. Kaplan warns Allegra about the dangers of riding her bike after offering her popovers and jam. (Ch. 10, pg. 161)
Mr. Kaplan asks Allegra to play Brahms’ Lullaby however she is feeling right then. (Ch. 10, pg. 165)
Allegra’s grandmother gives her a photograph of her great grandmother. (Ch. 10, pg. 169)
Allegra sees her Jewish half, and her Gentile half, noticing the Polish purse. (Ch. 10, pg. 172)
When the Bloch competition is five weeks away, Allegra asks herself if she going to play in it. (Ch. 11, pg. 175)
Allegra realizes that she can relearn the entire concerto just as if she was a beginner. (Ch. 11, pg. 176)
Michelangelo says that he hammers the marble because there is an angel inside and he’s trying to let it out. (Ch. 11, pg. 184)
Allegra says that Steve’s notes sound round and smooth like waves in the ocean. (Ch. 11, pg. 190)
Section 4: Chapters 12-14
Vocabulary
gurgle: to make a bubbly sound
sprawl: to lay down in an awkward way
frenzy: uncontrolled and wild behavior
berserk: out of control with emotion
vague: unclear
persistence: continuing a task in spite of difficulty
empathy: to understand the feelings of someone else
Vocabulary Usage in the Book
We went singing and gurgling underwater being Rhine Maidens for four afternoons before we got tired of it. (Ch. 12, pg. 196)
It was late afternoon after I had practiced for hours, and I was sitting in a slanted sprawl at the dining room table holding Heavenly on my stomach, feeling her just begin to dig me with her claws and then pull back. (Ch. 12, pg. 196)
She was in a frenzy. (Ch. 12, pg. 197)
She got berserk when I went bike riding but a television interview in front of thousands of people was going to be all right. (Ch. 12, pg. 200)
They sent me to the freight elevator – they’re all these really vague types – all these people saying, ‘Someone will be with you in a minute’ – … (Ch. 12, pg. 203)
The most persistent person I could think of was Mr. Trouble. (Ch. 14, pg. 244)
“…You’re a person of empathy and drive and -” she thought for a second, “and courage.” (Ch. 14, pg. 245)
Comprehension Questions
Allegra tells her grandmother that she will play in the competition in honor of her great grandmother.(Ch. 12, pg. 192)
The cartoon shows Allegra as a giant, and shows her playing too harsh on the violin. (Ch. 12, pg. 197)
Allegra will not admit to anyone that her practice is getting easier. (Ch. 12, pg. 199)
Karen says that that, if you let the music heal you, you’ll be okay. (Ch. 12, pg. 206)
The Bloch contestants think that Larry Ladley is ignorant and childish. (Ch. 12, pg. 209)
Karen calls Steve a “cucumber” when he won’t talk to anyone in the elevator. (Ch. 12, pg. 213)
Allegra believes Steve will become a concert violinist because he is a prodigy. (Ch. 13, pg. 219)
Allegra thinks that geniuses are weird. (Ch. 13, pg. 219)
Allegra’s mother advises her to remember that she needs to enjoy herself. (Ch. 13, pg. 223)
Allegra’s father reminds her to take delight in her performance. (Ch. 13, pg. 223)
The violinists will remain anonymous by performing behind a screen. (Ch. 13, pg. 225)
Violinist number two broke their D string during their performance. (Ch. 13, pg. 227)
Allegra pictures her great-grandmother when she is about to perform. (Ch. 13, pg. 229)
Christine thinks that Steve is mad when he gets second place in the competition. (Ch. 14, pg. 233)
