Quiz How to End a Love Story Yulin Kuang

How to End a Love Story: A 20-Question Quiz

About This Quiz

This quiz covers the full arc of Yulin Kuang’s How to End a Love Story, from Helen Zhang’s grief over her sister Michelle’s suicide to her secret affair with Grant Shepard, the driver involved in the accident. Questions span plot details, character motivations, symbolic objects, and synthesizing the novel’s central themes. A complete answer key with explanations follows the quiz.

For a deeper look at the story, visit the main book page, browse frequently asked questions, or read the ending explained.

Plot and Sequence Questions (8 Questions)

  1. At Michelle’s funeral, why does Helen tell Grant to leave?

    • A) She blames him for driving the car that killed her sister
    • B) She is angry that he arrived late and upset her mother
    • C) She thinks he is drunk
    • D) She wants to protect him from her family’s anger

  2. What triggers Grant’s panic attack in Chapter 22 (Twenty‑Two)?

    • A) Seeing a sheet‑covered body on the freeway
    • B) Receiving a text from Helen’s mother
    • C) Watching a car chase scene on TV
    • D) Remembering his uncle’s funeral

  3. During the writers’ retreat, what game forces Helen and Grant to confront grief?

    • A) Charades
    • B) Ouija board
    • C) Never Have I Ever
    • D) Truth or Dare

  4. After their first night together, Grant invites Helen to go shopping for what item?

    • A) A coatrack
    • B) A bookshelf
    • C) A new laptop
    • D) A winter coat

  5. Helen’s parents discover Grant’s involvement in the show after seeing his name on what?

    • A) A production email
    • B) A screenwriting credit in the trailer
    • C) A news article about the cast
    • D) A call sheet left on Helen’s nightstand

  6. Where does Grant propose to Helen?

    • A) At Somerset Grove Cemetery
    • B) At the New York Public Library
    • C) On the set of The Ivy Papers
    • D) In his childhood backyard in Dunollie

  7. What does the sheep at Helen and Grant’s wedding wear?

    • A) A floral collar
    • B) A miniature veil
    • C) A bow tie
    • D) A bell

  8. In the final chapter of her manuscript Letters You’ll Never Read, Helen addresses the letter to whom?

    • A) Michelle
    • B) Grant
    • C) Her mother
    • D) Her future self

Character Motivation Questions (5 Questions)

  1. Why does Grant initially resist taking the job on The Ivy Papers adaptation?

    • A) He wants to focus on his own pilot
    • B) He went to high school with Helen and knows she dislikes him
    • C) He feels the book is unfilmable
    • D) He is moving to Ireland with his mother

  2. Helen decides not to force Grant off the show in Chapter 4 (Four) because she feels:

    • A) Guilty for being too harsh
    • B) A sense of rebellion against her own careful nature
    • C) Pressure from Suraya to keep him
    • D) Curiosity about his writing talent

  3. During their break‑up in Chapter 27 (Twenty‑Seven), why does Helen insist the relationship cannot continue?

    • A) Grant refuses to say he loves her
    • B) She believes a future together is impossible due to their shared trauma
    • C) Her parents have threatened to disown her
    • D) Grant is moving to New York permanently

  4. Grant buys the coatrack at the antiques market because:

    • A) He needs a place to hang his own coats
    • B) He wants to make space for Helen’s winter coat in his life
    • C) Karina told him it would match his décor
    • D) It reminds him of his grandmother’s house

  5. In the writers’ room, Helen feels her ideas are dismissed with a single word. What word?

    • A) “But”
    • B) “Maybe”
    • C) “Next”
    • D) “Later”

Theme and Symbol Questions (4 Questions)

  1. The washable marker Grant uses to write his address on Helen’s thigh symbolizes:

    • A) The temporary and fragile nature of their secret arrangement
    • B) His artistic creativity
    • C) The permanence of their bond
    • D) Helen’s discomfort with commitment

  2. Helen’s letter to Michelle in the final chapter mainly conveys:

    • A) Unresolved anger and blame
    • B) A decision to forget her sister entirely
    • C) A willingness to heal while still carrying her sister’s memory
    • D) A demand for a written apology from beyond the grave

  3. The recurring motif of the “coatrack” throughout the novel represents:

    • A) The burden of family expectations
    • B) Grant’s desire to create a home with Helen
    • C) Helen’s fear of being weighed down
    • D) The writers’ room hierarchy

  4. Which character explicitly tells Helen she is “incapable of love”?

    • A) Oliver, her ex-boyfriend
    • B) Ethan, her college crush
    • C) Her mother, during a fight at the hospital
    • D) Grant, during their first argument on the rooftop

Synthesis Questions (3 Questions)

  1. (Short answer) In one or two sentences, explain how Helen’s grief over Michelle both prevents and eventually enables her to open up to Grant.

  2. (Multiple choice) Which line from the novel best captures Grant’s final ultimatum to Helen?

    • A) “I’d let you break my heart a thousand more times for one more night.”
    • B) “I want everything – days, nights, family, a lifetime.”
    • C) “You have me.”
    • D) “Let’s never talk about the future again.”

  3. (Short answer) What role does the setting of the New York Public Library play in the resolution of Helen and Grant’s relationship?

Answer Key

  1. B – Helen tells Grant to leave because his arrival late to the funeral makes her mother wail. (Chapter 1)
  2. A – Seeing a sheet‑covered body on the freeway triggers Grant’s panic attack, reliving the accident. (Chapter 22)
  3. B – The Ouija board session forces both to confront grief when Grant deflects a question about Helen’s sister. (Chapter 7)
  4. A – Grant invites Helen to buy a coatrack at the antiques market. (Chapter 19)
  5. A – Helen’s mother sees Grant Shepard’s name on a production email and confronts Helen. (Chapter 27)
  6. B – Grant proposes at the New York Public Library in a silent, intimate moment. (Chapter 35)
  7. A – The sheep named Michelle wears a flowery collar and chews Helen’s wedding dress. (Chapter 35)
  8. A – Helen writes the final chapter as a letter to Michelle. (Chapter 32)
  9. B – Grant resists the job because he knows Helen never liked him after the funeral. (Chapter 2)
  10. B – Helen feels a private rebellion and curiosity about what happens next. (Chapter 4, evidence from chapter 5)
  11. B – Helen tells Grant their shared trauma makes a future together impossible. (Chapter 27)
  12. B – Grant realizes he bought the coatrack to accommodate Helen’s winter coat, signifying his desire to make space for her. (Chapter 19)
  13. A – Helen feels her ideas are dismissed with “but.” (Chapter 6)
  14. A – The washable marker symbolizes the temporary, fragile nature of their secret arrangement. (Chapter 16)
  15. C – Helen’s letter expresses a willingness to heal and move forward while keeping Michelle’s memory. (Chapter 32 evidence)
  16. B – The coatrack repeatedly signifies Grant’s desire to build a home and include Helen. (Chapter 19)
  17. A – Oliver tells Helen she is incapable of love during their breakup. (Chapter 4 evidence)
  18. Sample answer: Helen’s grief initially makes her push Grant away, but confronting her anger at the cemetery and writing her letter to Michelle allows her to finally accept love.
  19. B – Grant says “I want everything – days, nights, family, a lifetime.” (Chapter 34)
  20. Sample answer: The library serves as the place where Helen writes her grief into a manuscript and sends it to Grant, and it is where Grant later proposes, transforming a site of solitude into one of shared commitment.