My Sister, the Serial Killer

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-16

Reading Check

1. What is the name of the man Ayoola has killed?

2. What is Korede’s profession?

3. Where did Ayoola get her knife?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Ayoola want when she calls Korede in Chapter 1?

2. What makes it possible for Korede to confide in Muhtar Yautai?

3. What difference between the sisters causes their mother to treat them differently?

4. What happens during the dinner preparation that demonstrates that Korede feels responsible for taking care of Ayoola because of the way Ayoola’s mind operates?

Paired Resource

“In Nigeria, A Culture Of Bribery Turns Deadly”

• This four-minute NPR podcast segment describes a man who was shot for refusing to give a police officer a bribe.
• This resource relates to the theme of Contemporary Nigerian Society.
• What incident in My Sister, the Serial Killer highlights this widespread police corruption in Nigeria? What is the narrative’s tone toward this incident? How does Braithwaite highlight a similar problem in the hospital where Korede works? What is Korede’s attitude toward the incidents at the hospital? What does this suggest about Korede and about her society?

Chapters 17-31

Reading Check

1. After Korede and Ayoola have a tense discussion about Tade at dinner, what does Korede do in Ayoola’s room?

2. Who covers for Korede after she picks the petals off the roses?

3. What was Ayoola and Korede’s father doing when he died?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Korede immediately try to get Ayoola to leave when she shows up at the hospital?

2. How did Korede’s experiences in school heighten her consciousness of the differences in her and her sister’s looks?

3. How is Yinka cruel toward Korede on the day Korede wears makeup to work, and what does Yinka say about Ayoola and Tade?

4. In Chapters 30 and 31, what doubts is Korede having about her sister’s story about Femi’s death?

Paired Resource

“Do Good-Looking People Really Have It Easier Than Everyone Else?”

• This Psychology Today article by Dr. Deming (Adam) Wang summarizes research into the positives and negatives associated with beauty.
• This resource relates to the theme of The Perception of Beauty.
• What pros and cons does research reveal might be associated with beauty? What advantages does Ayoola seem to enjoy because of her beauty? How might her beauty make it harder for people who do not know her well to realize how dangerous she really is? Do you see any of the negative aspects of beauty reflected in her life so far? Given what Dr. Wang’s article says about envy-related hostility, how might the reader’s perception of Ayoola be impacted by her characterization as a beautiful woman? How might Korede’s narration be impacted?

Chapters 32-46

Reading Check

1. What does Korede do when she is feeling anxious and needs to get her thoughts in order?

2. What color do both sisters wear to their father’s commemoration?

3. Where does Ayoola travel with Gboyega?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. After a neighbor tells Femi’s sister about the two women she saw leaving Femi’s apartment on the night he disappeared, what does Ayoola suggest she might say to explain herself?

2. After the police take her car to be examined, what does Korede begin to wonder about her sister and her father?

3. What does Ayoola’s behavior with Gboyega make Korede remember about her father?

4. Why does Ayoola’s mother give her a dining set?

Paired Resource

“How Genetics and Environment Influence Antisocial Behavior” and “Twin Study Shows That Link Between Harsh Parenting and Youth Antisocial Behavior is Environmental, Not Genetic, in Origin”

• The first resource, from Neuroscience News, describes research into one genetic influence on people’s vulnerability to violent behavior.
• The second resource, from the University of Texas at Austin’s Population Research Center, is a summary of a study showing the impact of harsh parenting on antisocial behaviors.
• These resources relate to the themes of Nature Versus Nurture and Family Dynamics.
• Do the researchers in these two studies come to opposite conclusions, or is there a way to reconcile their findings? Does Korede attribute Ayoola’s behavior to genetics or environment? Is the reader being invited to endorse Korede’s thinking without question, or are there reasons for the reader to be skeptical that she sees the situations with her sister and within her family clearly? What would the authors of these studies tell Korede about her sister’s antisocial behavior?

Chapters 47-61

Reading Check

1. How old was Ayoola when she killed for the first time?

2. Who is Peju?

3. Who is the “Friend” referred to in the title of Chapter 58?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What complication in Korede’s life arises because of her coma patient’s changed status?

2. What memory of being young in the market does Korede think of when she gets a feeling that something bad is about to happen?

3. How does Tade’s response to Korede’s warnings show that he is consumed with surface appearances?

4. When Muhtar asks Korede to stay while he talks to his son, what is he demonstrating to her?

Paired Resource

“8 Common Dysfunctional Family Roles”

• This Psychology Today article by psychotherapist Kaytee Gillis describes the different roles that members of dysfunctional families often fulfill.
• This resource relates to the theme of Family Dynamics.
• How do these roles apply to the members of Korede’s family? Do any of the family members seem to play multiple roles? How does Korede’s role in her family help explain some of her choices and behavior in the world outside her family?

Chapters 62-76

Reading Check

1. What does Korede steal from Tade’s office?

2. What was the name of Ayoola’s second victim?

3. Who is Kehinde?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When her father was beating Ayoola after the boy expressed interest in her, how did Korede persuade her father to stop?

2. When Ayoola is stabbed, what causes Tade to tell Korede that she is worse than Ayoola?

3. After Ayoola lies to the police, what ultimatum does she deliver to Korede?

4. What does Korede’s choice to burn the paper with Muhtar’s number on it signify about what she has chosen for her future?

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• Graceland on SuperSummary

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