Loved One Quiz: 20 Questions About the Novel
About This Quiz
This 20-question quiz spans the entire story of Aisha Muharrar’s Loved One. It mixes multiple‑choice items with short‑answer prompts and covers plot points, character motivations, key themes, and symbolic details. After answering, check your work against the detailed answer key that follows. For more context, read our full summary, explore book club questions, or review the ending explained.
Quiz Questions
1. (Plot – Multiple Choice)
At Gabe’s funeral, Julia delivers a eulogy while hiding which secret?
- A) She was Gabe’s manager.
- B) She had a one-night stand with him a month before his death.
- C) She is pregnant with his child.
- D) She stole his guitar.
2. (Plot – Short Answer)
What personal object does Julia most urgently want to recover among Gabe’s belongings?
3. (Plot – Multiple Choice)
Where does Julia first see Elizabeth after the funeral?
- A) At Leora’s home in Berkeley
- B) Outside a London art gallery
- C) Inside Fleur Bleue restaurant
- D) At Gabe’s favorite bakery
4. (Plot – Short Answer)
What revelation does Elizabeth make at the floral atelier that shocks Julia and alters their relationship?
5. (Plot – Multiple Choice)
How does Julia come to possess Gabe’s guitar?
- A) Elizabeth gives it to her as a gift.
- B) She removes it from the wall of Fleur Bleue after dinner.
- C) Leora mails it to her from Berkeley.
- D) She buys it at a charity auction.
6. (Plot – Short Answer)
What mistake does Julia make the night Gabe invites her to his secret show at Hotel Frank?
7. (Plot – Multiple Choice)
Where is the silver medical bracelet finally located?
- A) Inside a storage unit David organized
- B) In Elizabeth’s jewelry box
- C) On Leora’s wrist in Barcelona
- D) With the harpist Wilhelmina’s brother
8. (Plot – Short Answer)
What nickname do fans give Julia after the leaked album Puppy Love?
9. (Character – Multiple Choice)
Why does Julia personally decide to track down Gabe’s missing possessions instead of simply reporting back to Leora?
- A) Leora suspects Elizabeth of stealing them.
- B) Julia wants to retrieve the bracelet she made and understand why Gabe stopped communicating.
- C) She needs an excuse to vacation in Europe.
- D) Casey dares her to confront Elizabeth face‑to‑face.
10. (Character – Short Answer)
At the funeral, why does Elizabeth coldly tell Julia she knows Julia’s “true role” in Gabe’s life?
11. (Character – Multiple Choice)
What reason does Gabe give in the flashbacks for ending their teenage relationship in Barcelona?
- A) He was moving to London permanently.
- B) He believed romance would hinder his music career.
- C) He had already met Elizabeth.
- D) Julia’s parents disapproved.
12. (Character – Short Answer)
What prompts Elizabeth to keep her pregnancy a secret from Leora for months?
13. (Character – Multiple Choice)
Julia’s decision to kiss Louis and go to his flat is primarily an attempt to:
- A) Begin a new romantic relationship.
- B) Provoke Elizabeth’s jealousy.
- C) Escape her grief and temporarily blot out thoughts of Gabe.
- D) Punish Gabe for ghosting her.
14. (Theme – Short Answer)
What does the silver medical bracelet symbolize for Julia throughout her search?
15. (Theme – Multiple Choice)
Julia’s sudden shower phobia is directly tied to:
- A) A childhood near‑drowning.
- B) The image of Gabe dying alone and her guilt over not meeting him.
- C) A traumatic rainstorm in London.
- D) Elizabeth’s remark about slipping in the tub.
16. (Theme – Multiple Choice)
The novel critiques the platitude “Everything happens for a reason” by:
- A) Having Julia find a divine plan in Gabe’s death.
- B) Showing Julia abandon the belief after confronting random loss and grief.
- C) Using Elizabeth to persuade Julia it is a source of comfort.
- D) Making Leora repeat it at the memorial service.
17. (Theme – Short Answer)
What does Gabe’s guitar represent in the conflict between Julia and Elizabeth?
18. (Synthesis – Short Answer)
How do Julia and Elizabeth’s perceptions of each other change from the funeral to the end of the Barcelona trip?
19. (Synthesis – Multiple Choice)
The discovery that the bracelet was on Leora’s wrist all along primarily serves to:
- A) Expose Elizabeth as a liar.
- B) Reveal that Gabe tried to recover the bracelet after Joshua Tree, overturning Julia’s belief that he discarded it.
- C) Uncover a family heirloom.
- D) End the rivalry between Julia and Elizabeth.
20. (Synthesis – Short Answer)
Explain how the novel’s alternating structure—shifting between present-day quest and past memories—mirrors Julia’s emotional processing of grief.
Answer Key
1. B – Julia hides the one‑night stand she had with Gabe the month before his death. Elizabeth is aware of the encounter, but Julia does not disclose it publicly.
2. The silver medical ID bracelet she made for Gabe in Barcelona after discovering his situs inversus. Julia sees it as a symbol of a broken promise and her unfinished connection to him.
3. B – Julia spots Elizabeth outside a London gallery before their formal meeting at the Frankenthaler exhibition. The other locations appear later in the story.
4. Elizabeth tells Julia she is four months pregnant with Gabe’s child. The disclosure stuns Julia and shifts the entire dynamic between them.
5. B – After Elizabeth walks away at Fleur Bleue, Julia removes the guitar from the wall, intending to claim it for Gabe’s memorial.
6. Julia receives Gabe’s voicemail and text but stays home instead of going to the secret show, a choice that haunts her after his death.
7. C – Leora reveals she already has the bracelet, having received it from Gabe’s father after a shipping mix‑up. It had been missing because Gabe left it at the Joshua Tree rental.
8. “Barcelona Baby.” Fans coined the nickname after lyrics on Puppy Love described Julia as a precious jewel and alluded to their shared past.
9. B – Julia believes that recovering the bracelet will illuminate what went wrong between her and Gabe. Leora’s suspicions and Casey’s comments are prompts, but Julia’s core drive is personal.
10. Elizabeth is aware of Julia’s one‑night stand with Gabe. Her remark is fueled by jealousy, possessiveness, and the pain of being marginalized even at his funeral.
11. B – On Tibidabo, Gabe explains that he ended their romance because he feared it would distract from his fledgling music career. This choice protects his artistic identity.
12. Elizabeth needs time to grieve privately and to prepare emotionally before confronting Gabe’s family with the news of the pregnancy. She is not trying to hurt Leora deliberately.
13. C – Julia seeks physical escape from her pain, hoping that being with Louis will erase Gabe from her mind. It fails to give her the relief she craves.
14. The bracelet stands for Julia’s enduring bond with Gabe, her fear that he cast aside what they had, and her desperation to find a tangible sign that she mattered to him.
15. B – The phobia emerges after Gabe’s fatal accident, as Julia fixates on the image of him alone in a shower at the time of his death and the guilt of not answering his call.
16. B – Julia initially uses the phrase to make sense of coincidences, but after Gabe’s random death, she recognizes that her belief was a fragile coping mechanism, not a truth.
17. The guitar becomes a contested emblem of Gabe’s legacy—who gets to remember him publicly and whose story about his life matters most. It also triggers a direct confrontation about his final weeks.
18. Initially, each woman views the other as a mythic rival, but through forced proximity, shared secrets (the pregnancy, the missing bracelet), and fragile honesty, they begin to see each other as real, flawed people and develop a grudging mutual respect.
19. B – Learning that Gabe attempted to retrieve the bracelet changes Julia’s understanding of his actions after Joshua Tree, indicating he valued their connection instead of discarding it indifferently.
20. The non‑linear structure mimics Julia’s attempt to piece together fragmented memories, re‑examining key moments with Gabe in search of understanding. This back‑and‑forth rhythm reflects the unpredictable, layered nature of grief.