Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler: Full-Book Quiz (20 Questions)

This quiz covers the entire novel. Answer the 20 questions below, then check your answers in the key.

Plot and Sequence (Questions 1–8)

Multiple choice: What event opens the novel?

A) Adelaide moving into a new flat
B) Adelaide in a hospital after a Xanax overdose
C) Adelaide meeting Rory at the Old Vic
D) Adelaide receiving a job offer from Sam

Multiple choice: How does Adelaide first encounter Rory Hughes?

A) At a London book signing
B) At a Cambridge May Ball
C) Outside the Old Vic theatre, where she realizes he's the man she approached at a boat race years earlier
D) Through a dating app

Multiple choice: What does Rory reveal about his parents during their picnic in St. James's Park?

A) They divorced when he was young
B) They died in a car accident when he was ten
C) They live in Ireland
D) They disowned him

Multiple choice: What happens when Adelaide meets Nathalie Alban at a book signing?

A) They become friends
B) Adelaide bumps into her and later emails her, unaware she is Rory's ex
C) Nathalie insults Adelaide
D) Rory introduces them

Multiple choice: What triggers Adelaide's decision to end her relationship with Rory?

A) He forgets her birthday
B) She sees his active dating-app profile
C) He refuses to say 'I love you'
D) He moves away

Multiple choice: What happens to Adelaide's pregnancy?

A) She gives birth to a daughter
B) She has a miscarriage
C) She decides to have an abortion
D) She never learns she is pregnant

Multiple choice: What diagnosis does Dr. Grayson give Adelaide?

A) Major depressive disorder
B) Bipolar disorder type two
C) Generalized anxiety disorder
D) Post-traumatic stress disorder

Multiple choice: Which of the following events occurs last in the novel?

A) Adelaide adopts a puppy named Fitz
B) Adelaide sees Rory in Green Park with a wedding ring
C) Adelaide starts a new job at Alliance
D) Adelaide attends Eloise's wedding in Mykonos

Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)

Multiple choice: Why does Adelaide accept Sam's job offer at Alliance Technologies?

A) She wants to leave publishing forever
B) It provides a visa and a strong salary, even though it means abandoning her publishing goal
C) She needs to escape Rory
D) Sam offers her a higher position than she expected

Multiple choice: Why does Rory hesitate to commit to Adelaide?

A) He is still in love with Nathalie and fears commitment after his long relationship ended
B) He is secretly married
C) He doesn't find Adelaide attractive
D) He wants to focus on his career

Multiple choice: Why does Adelaide stay with Rory despite his emotional distance and criticism?

A) She is financially dependent on him
B) She believes he is her soul mate and fears being alone
C) She is afraid of her friends' judgment
D) She hopes to become a writer through him

Multiple choice: Why does Madison confront Adelaide at her farewell party?

A) Adelaide forgot to bring a gift
B) Adelaide missed most of the party for Rory, and Madison believes Rory doesn't love her
C) Madison is jealous of Adelaide's relationship
D) Adelaide insulted Madison's boyfriend

Multiple choice: Why does Rory download a dating app after his argument with Adelaide?

A) He intends to cheat on her
B) He seeks attention and validation, not intending to cheat
C) He wants to find a new girlfriend
D) He is testing Adelaide's loyalty

Theme and Symbol (Questions 14–17)

Multiple choice: What does the peach tattoo symbolize for Adelaide?

A) Her love of fruit
B) Regrowth and hope after trauma
C) A reminder of her mother
D) Her desire to travel

Multiple choice: What does Rory's copy of The Orwell Diaries represent to him?

A) His love of literature
B) His connection to Nathalie and his past
C) A gift from Adelaide
D) His ambition to become a writer

Multiple choice: What theme is explored through Adelaide's miscarriage?

A) The importance of family planning
B) Buried grief and emotional suppression
C) The dangers of pregnancy
D) The role of fate in life

Multiple choice: In Mallorca, Rory explains the 'aesthetic argument' to Adelaide. What does this argument claim?

A) That beauty is subjective
B) That beauty is evidence of God or a higher power
C) That art should be beautiful to be valuable
D) That nature is more beautiful than art

Synthesis (Questions 18–20)

Short answer: How does Adelaide's relationship with Rory parallel her earlier relationship with Emory Evans? What key difference emerges?
Short answer: What does the novel suggest about the relationship between love and grief, particularly through Adelaide's experience with Nathalie's death?
Short answer: How does the epilogue reframe Adelaide's earlier belief that Rory was her soul mate? What does she come to understand about love?

Answer Key

1. B – The prologue opens with Adelaide in a Chelsea hospital after swallowing Xanax pills, then flashes back to the events leading up to it.

2. C – Adelaide meets Rory outside the Old Vic and realizes he is the same man she approached during a study-abroad boat race years earlier.

3. B – In Chapter Eight, Rory reveals he is an orphan whose parents died in a car accident when he was ten.

4. B – At the book signing, Adelaide bumps into Nathalie, who gives her a business card; Adelaide later emails her, unaware she is Rory's ex.

5. B – In Chapter Twenty-six, Raven shows Adelaide Rory's active dating-app profile, which leads Adelaide to end the relationship.

6. B – Adelaide miscarries after learning she is ten weeks pregnant; she hides the loss from Rory.

7. B – Dr. Grayson suggests Adelaide might have bipolar disorder, and a second doctor confirms type two.

8. B – In the epilogue, Adelaide sees Rory in Green Park with a wedding ring; this occurs years after the main events.

9. B – Adelaide accepts the job because it offers a visa and salary, even though it means giving up her publishing dream.

10. A – Rory's fear of commitment stems from his unresolved feelings for Nathalie and the end of his six-year relationship.

11. B – Adelaide believes Rory is her soul mate and fears being alone, so she tolerates his emotional distance.

12. B – Madison confronts Adelaide because she missed the party for Rory and Madison believes Rory doesn't love her.

13. B – Rory downloads the app seeking attention and validation, not intending to cheat.

14. B – The peach tattoo symbolizes regrowth and hope, as mentioned in Chapter Eight.

15. B – The Orwell Diaries is a gift from Nathalie and represents Rory's connection to her and his past.

16. B – Adelaide's miscarriage is buried grief; she suppresses the loss and tells no one, reflecting the theme of emotional suppression.

17. B – The aesthetic argument claims that beauty is evidence of God or a higher power.

18. Adelaide's relationships with both Emory and Rory involve emotional abuse, unrequited love, and her feeling of being unlovable. The key difference is that with Rory, she eventually recognizes her own worth and leaves, whereas with Emory she stayed until he cheated. (Accept any reasonable answer that notes the parallel and growth.)

19. The novel suggests love and grief are intertwined; Adelaide's grief for Nathalie (whom she never met) is complicated by her love for Rory, and she learns that healing requires acknowledging pain rather than burying it. (Accept answers that discuss the intertwining of love and grief, and the need to process loss.)

20. The epilogue shows Adelaide with Brennan, a comfortable and steady love, contrasting with the all-consuming passion she felt for Rory. She realizes that soul-mate beliefs can be misguided and that real love is warm and supportive, not painful. (Accept answers that note the contrast and her growth.)