Here One Moment Quiz
How well do you remember Here One Moment?
This 20-question quiz spans the entire novel, from the fateful flight to the epilogue. Questions cover plot, character motivation, themes, and synthesis. Each question is either multiple‑choice or short‑answer. The complete answer key with brief explanations appears after all questions.
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Plot and Sequence (8 questions)
1. What triggers the mysterious woman to begin making death predictions on the flight?
- A) She sees a child crying and feels compelled to speak
- B) She unbuckles her seatbelt, stands in the aisle, and begins counting “On the count of three”
- C) A passenger asks her for a reading
- D) The flight hits turbulence and she announces a vision
2. Which passenger’s prediction is the first to come true?
- A) The elderly doctors (heart failure at 101)
- B) Kayla Halfpenny (car crash at 19)
- C) Leo Vodnik (workplace accident at 43)
- D) Simon Gallea (acute respiratory infection at 27)
3. How do Eve and Paula first learn the predictor’s name?
- A) Cherry Lockwood sends a letter to all passengers
- B) Eve Googles “Cherry Actuary” after a comment suggests the predictor may be an actuary
- C) The police release her identity
- D) Allegra recognises her from a previous flight
4. What twist involves the YouTuber Simon Gallea (“Simon Says Be Kind”)?
- A) He becomes the predictor’s most devoted follower
- B) He fakes his own death for fame and merchandise sales
- C) He was never on the plane and his death is a hoax – but he was not predicted by Cherry
- D) Both B and C
5. What becomes of Timmy Binici, the toddler predicted to drown at age seven?
- A) He drowns in a pool accident
- B) His mother’s constant swimming lessons turn him into an Olympic gold medallist swimmer
- C) He avoids water for his entire life
- D) The prediction is never mentioned again
6. How does Leo’s daughter Bridie first learn about the death prediction?
- A) She reads about it online
- B) She overhears Leo telling Neve the story while Neve’s glasses were being cleaned
- C) A friend tells her at school
- D) Her mother shows her the viral video
7. After a health scare that turns out to be an ordinary virus, what new activity does Sue start with Max?
- A) River cruising in Europe
- B) Salsa dancing classes
- C) Rock climbing
- D) Meditation retreats
8. What is the narrative significance of the single sentence “The flap of a seagull’s wing and everything changes”?
- A) It describes an actual accident on the flight
- B) It marks a turning point where chance alters the story’s course
- C) It introduces a new character
- D) It is the novel’s final line
Character Motivation (5 questions)
9. Why does Cherry Lockwood make the death predictions on the flight?
- A) She believes she is a genuine psychic
- B) She is “crazed with grief” after losing her husband and two friends, and is acting out of mental distress combined with her actuarial habits
- C) She wants to become famous as the Death Lady
- D) She is testing a statistical theory
10. Why does Paula Binici become so obsessed with the drowning prediction for her son Timmy?
- A) She is a naturally anxious person with a history of OCD that flares up under stress
- B) She wants to write a book about her experience
- C) She secretly hopes the prediction will be true
- D) Her husband encourages her to fixate on it
11. What prevents Allegra from fully committing to a relationship with First Officer Jonny Summers?
- A) She is still in love with an ex-boyfriend
- B) She fears vulnerability and the self‑harm prediction makes her guard against emotional closeness
- C) Her family disapproves of Jonny
- D) She plans to move overseas
12. Why does Ethan Chang feel conflicted about the prediction that he will die from assault at age 30?
- A) He is a fatalist who believes he cannot change the outcome
- B) He is skeptical but also grieving his friend Harvey, and the prediction stirs up conflicted emotions about fate
- C) He wants to confront the predictor
- D) He is secretly enjoying the attention
13. Why does Eve decide to find the predictor and bribe her?
- A) She wants a more favourable prediction for herself
- B) She hopes to get the predictor to tell Dom that his prediction of intimate partner homicide is wrong, to ease his fear
- C) She wants to sue the predictor
- D) She plans to write a tell-all article
Theme and Symbol (4 questions)
14. What does the Kronecker delta brooch that Cherry wears throughout the novel primarily symbolise?
- A) Her career as an actuary
- B) Her marriage to Ned and the routines of their life together
- C) Her mother’s fortune‑telling legacy
- D) The mathematical impossibility of predicting the future
15. How does the novel most directly explore the theme of free will versus destiny?
- A) Every prediction comes true exactly as stated
- B) Characters receive predictions but then make choices that either fulfil or change their outcomes, showing that foreknowledge can alter behaviour
- C) The predictor herself turns out to be a fraud
- D) The novel offers no evidence either way
16. What is the Monte Carlo fallacy, and how does it appear in the story?
- A) The idea that past random events affect future outcomes – Cherry’s father uses a coin‑toss to explain it, and later Cherry’s mother treats her predictions like a streak
- B) A gambling strategy that Cherry uses to make money
- C) A philosophical argument against free will
- D) A specific prediction about a passenger who dies in a casino
17. The wedding dress that Cherry donates to a charity shop and later sees on a young woman represents:
- A) Cherry’s desire to start a new life
- B) The blending of past and present, memory and loss, and the lingering connections between people
- C) A symbol of fertility
- D) The bride’s naivety about marriage
Synthesis (3 questions)
18. The epigraph by Stephen Hawking notes that even people who claim everything is predestined still look before crossing the road. How does this idea resonate with the novel’s treatment of predictions?
- A) It suggests that fatalism is logically inconsistent – even those who believe in fate behave as if they have free will
- B) It proves that the Death Lady is wrong
- C) It shows that the passengers are all hypocrites
- D) It is not connected to the story
19. Compare the reactions of Sue O’Sullivan and Paula Binici to their predictions. Which statement best captures the difference?
- A) Sue becomes paranoid; Paula becomes carefree
- B) Sue initially dismisses the prediction but later chooses to cherish life; Paula becomes obsessively protective and seeks therapy for OCD
- C) Both become obsessed with avoiding their predicted deaths
- D) Sue ignores the prediction completely; Paula tries to prove it wrong
20. Considering the full arc of the novel – from the flight to the epilogue where Timmy wins Olympic gold – does Here One Moment ultimately argue for fate or free will?
- A) Fate, because most predictions come true
- B) Free will, because characters change their behaviour in response to the predictions, and Cherry herself denies any psychic ability, attributing everything to grief and statistics
- C) It remains ambiguous
- D) Neither; the book is purely a mystery
Answer Key
1. B – In chapter 2, the lady unbuckles her seatbelt, stands, and says “On the count of three” before going down the aisle. Nothing else triggers her.
2. B – Kayla Halfpenny dies in a car accident caused by a drunk driver; her death is the first confirmed predicted death (chapter 58).
3. B – After a comment on social media suggests the predictor might be an actuary, Eve Googles “Cherry Actuary” and finds a photo of Cherry Lockwood (chapter 106).
4. D – Simon Gallea faked his death; Cherry never predicted him because he was not on the flight (chapter 122).
5. B – The epilogue reveals that Timmy, whose mother enrolled him in swimming lessons because of the prediction, becomes an Olympic swimmer and wins gold.
6. B – While Leo cleans Neve’s glasses and tells the story, Bridie overhears and asks in terror “Is Daddy going to die?” (chapter 33).
7. B – After Sue’s virus scare, Max surprises her with salsa dancing classes because her fear made him want to address their regrets (chapter 108).
8. B – The single‑sentence chapter 59 compresses a turning point; it marks the moment where chance (the seagull’s wing) changes the narrative course.
9. B – In chapter 122, Cherry explains she was “crazed with grief” and that her predictions were a distorted version of her habit of calculating strangers’ likely deaths based on observable cues and actuarial data.
10. A – Paula has a history of OCD; after the flight she writes “Timmy will not drown” daily, and later admits her OCD is the real problem (chapters 98, 121, 123).
11. B – Allegra’s fear of vulnerability is heightened by the self‑harm prediction; she backs away from Jonny after he invites her to meet his family (chapter 92).
12. B – Ethan is skeptical but also grieving Harvey; the prediction stirs up mixed feelings and he engages with it through discussions of Stoicism and Memento Mori (chapters 74, 39).
13. B – Eve decides to bribe the predictor to change the message for Dom, who fears he will kill her in his sleep (chapter 68).
14. B – The brooch is a gift from Ned inscribed with the Kronecker delta, and Cherry wears it daily as a ritual connecting her to him and their marriage (chapters 107, 17).
15. B – Characters such as Paula, Leo, Sue, and Timmy alter their behaviour because of the predictions, showing that foreknowledge can influence destiny. Cherry also denies supernatural ability.
16. A – The Monte Carlo fallacy (the gambler’s fallacy) is explained by Cherry’s father with a coin‑toss; later Cherry’s mother treats her pattern of accurate predictions as a streak (chapters 48, 65).
17. B – Cherry sees a bride wearing a dress identical to her own wedding dress with pollen stains from Ivy, linking past and present and evoking memory and loss (chapter 19).
18. A – The Hawking quote challenges logical consistency of fatalism, mirroring how characters behave as if they have free will even after hearing predictions.
19. B – Sue dismisses the prediction at first but later embraces life (salsa dancing); Paula becomes obsessive, hides the prediction, and eventually seeks therapy (chapters 6, 37, 41, 108, 121).
20. B – The novel ultimately favours free will: characters change their actions, Cherry denies psychic ability, and Timmy’s swimming lessons turn a predicted tragedy into triumph. The ending quote from Elisabeth Kübler‑Ross encourages living fully despite uncertainty.
Want to dive deeper? See our ending explained or browse discussion questions.