Tangerine Study Guide

Study Questions: Write a brief answer to each study question as we read the novel. Use the questions to guide your reading and prepare for class discussion.

Part 1 (pg 7-92)

  1. Why was Paul surprised by the way Florida looked? What did he expect it to look like?
  1. What is the Erik Fisher Football Dream? What does Paul think about it? Explain.
  1. Why was Paul mad that Erik’s trophies were put in his room on accident?
  1. Why does it smell like fire in Paul’s neighborhood?
  1. What is the story Erik is telling to explain Paul’s glasses?
  1. What is the damage Paul worried about when he is told that Kerri will walk him around campus?
  1. Paul’s mom says, “Your house is your family’s biggest investment. And you have to protect that investment.” Why do you think she says this? Do you agree?
  1. What does it mean to be “on the bus” on the Lake Windsor Middle School soccer team?
  1. What happened to Mike Costello? How did Erik and Arthur respond?
  1. Why can’t Paul be on the LWMS soccer team?
  1. Why were Paul, Joey, and the other LWMS soccer players called into the front office? What did

Paul tell the adults he saw?

  1. What caused LWMS to collapse?
  1. Why did the city allow LWMS to be built on top of an unsteady structure?
  1. How did Mr. Fisher’s job change as a result of the LWMS scandal?
  1. Why was Paul excited to go to Tangerine Middle School?

Part 2 (pg 95-194)

  1. How does Paul say he feels about the fact that Tangerine Middle School is mostly made up of minorities?
  1. What does Paul find out about the players on TMS’s soccer team?
  1. What position does Paul play? Does he get to start?
  1. How did things get “uncool really fast” in the lunchroom (pg 103)?
  1. Why does Paul say the team is not his team? When he says, “It’s not nice, but it’s where I want to be,” what does he mean?
  1. What did Erik and Arthur say at Paul’s house to Joey that stunned him?
  1. Why did Paul get pulled out of the first soccer game against Palmetto?
  1. Erik was on the evening news because of his performance at his first football game. How did he and Mr. Fisher feel about it? How did Paul feel?
  2. Why are all the neighbors getting their homes tented?
  1. How did the soccer team treat Joey? Why do you think Paul fits in better than Joey?
  1. Who is Mr. Donnelly? Why do you think Shandra ran away when he came to practice?
  1. Why was Joey upset about Paul getting them into the group with Tino, Henry, and Theresa?
  1. Why did Joey and Tino get into a fight? What happened as a result of the fight?
  1. What did Paul find on his dad’s computer?
  1. Where was Joey on October 5th? Why wasn’t Paul surprised?
  1. Why are Paul and his science group interviewing Luis Cruz?
  1. Why is Lake Windsor Downs having a termite problem?
  1. What did Tino do when he found out Paul was the one who ratted him out at the carnival?
  1. What did Mr. Donnelley reveal about Betty Bright’s past?
  1. Coach Walski tried to kick Paul out of the Tangerine Middle vs. Lake Windsor Middle soccer game. Why did he back down?

Part 3 (pg 197-294)

  1. What happened when the science group came to Paul’s house?
  1. How do we find out Erik has a key to the storage unit?
  1. Why did Luis go to the LWHS football field? What happened when he went?
  1. What does “fighting the freeze” mean?
  1. How do you think Paul’s decision to “fight the freeze” changed the way Tino looked at him?
  1. What plan does Luis reveal to Paul?
  1. How many points did Erik score at the last football game of the year? Explain how thathappened.
  1. Paul knew why the koi were disappearing, but never told anyone. Why not?
  1. What do we find out about Luis on November 28th? How did this happen?
  1. Why was December 1st a night to remember? List what happened in chronological order.
  1. What does Erik say Paul is lying about? (Hint: This is when Erik says, “He’s lying, he’s lying, he’slying” over and over again)
  1. How did Paul really lose his vision?
  1. Paul runs into Shandra Thomas in Lake Windsor Downs. Why does she tell him that Antoine skipped Senior Night?
  1. Why was Shandra hiding her true identity? Look back at question #26. Were you right about why Shandra ran away from Mr. Donnelly?
  1. What is the big story in the newspaper the day after Antoine speaks to Mr. Donnelly?
  1. What did Mr. and Mrs. Fisher reveal at the homeowners meeting about Erik and Arthur?
  1. What did Paul tell the police officers who were arresting Arthur Bauer? Would you have done the same? Why or why not?
  1. What was Paul’s punishment at school for what he did at Senior Night?
  1. How does Paul feel about changing schools? Where is he going?
  1. What scent filled the car on the ride to Paul’s new school?

Characters– List some important features of each of the characters listed below. Think about everything ranging from their physical appearance to their personality traits. Some Characters will have more detail than others.

Paul Fisher:

Erik Fisher:

Mom (Mrs. Fisher):

Dad (Mr. Fisher):

Joey Costello:

Mike Costello:

Arthur Bauer:

Mr. Bauer:

Antoine Thomas:

Old Charley Burns:

Shandra Thomas:

Theresa Cruz:

Tino Cruz:

Luis Cruz:

Victor Guzman:

Mr. Donnelly:

Coach Warner:

Betty Bright:

Vincent Castor:

Grandpop (Mrs. Fisher’s dad):

Grandmom (Mrs. Fisher’s mom):

Essay Question: The following question will appear as an essay question on the exam. This essay is worth 25% of your test. Use the space below to start taking notes from the book that backs up the idea that Tangerine is about appearances.

Some might say that a theme in Tangerine is that appearances may be deceiving – that if things look good from the outside, that doesn’t mean everything is okay on the inside. What do you think about that idea? Where do you see evidence of this theme in the book?