More Than You'll Ever Know: Full-Book Quiz

Full-Book Quiz: More Than You'll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez (20 Questions)

Test your knowledge of Katie Gutierrez's More Than You'll Ever Know with this 20-question quiz spanning the entire novel. Questions cover plot and sequence, character motivation, themes and symbols, and synthesis. The complete answer key with explanations follows the quiz.

Plot & Sequence (Questions 1–8)

1. In what year does the novel's present-day narrative begin?

A) 2015
B) 2017
C) 2019
D) 2020

2. At what event does Lore first meet Andres in Mexico City?

A) A funeral
B) A wedding
C) A business conference
D) A university lecture

3. What does Andres leave for Lore at the bank on the day he dies?

A) A letter and a key to Hotel Botanica room 114
B) A photograph of the two of them
C) A wedding ring
D) A plane ticket to Mexico City

4. Who actually killed Andres Russo?

A) Fabian Rivera
B) Lore Rivera
C) Mateo Rivera
D) Gabriel Rivera

5. What natural disaster strikes Mexico City while Lore is with Andres in 1985?

A) A hurricane
B) A volcanic eruption
C) An earthquake
D) A flood

6. What does Lore admit about her alibi for the night of the murder?

A) She was at work all evening
B) She initially told police they all stayed home but actually went to a movie
C) She was with Fabian at the ranch
D) She was at the hospital with a miscarriage

7. What revelation does Carlos Russo make to Cassie about Lore?

A) Lore was pregnant at the time of Andres's death
B) Lore had a third husband
C) Lore stole money from Andres
D) Lore threatened Andres before he died

8. What happens to Fabian as a result of the murder?

A) He flees to Mexico
B) He is convicted and imprisoned
C) He is acquitted at trial
D) He dies in prison before the novel's end

Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)

9. Why does Lore agree to speak with Cassie?

A) To make money from the book deal
B) To control her own narrative and undermine the New York writer's book
C) To clear Fabian's name
D) To reconnect with Andres's children

10. Why does Cassie initially pursue the Rivera story?

A) She needs money for her wedding
B) She wants to write a real story, not just a blog post
C) She is related to the family
D) She wants revenge on the Laredo police

11. Why does Gabriel initially confess to killing Andres?

A) He actually committed the murder
B) He believed it would be easier for Lore to believe him
C) He wanted to protect Mateo from prison
D) He was paid by Fabian to confess

12. Why does Lore lie to police about the night of the murder?

A) To protect Fabian
B) To protect Gabriel
C) To protect herself
D) To protect Mateo

13. Why does Cassie refuse Lore's offer to confess to the murder?

A) She doesn't believe Lore's story
B) She is unwilling to let Fabian remain imprisoned
C) She wants Mateo to confess instead
D) She fears for her own safety

Theme & Symbol (Questions 14–17)

14. What does the gold locket symbolize in the novel?

A) Lore's marriage to Fabian
B) The physical evidence of Andres's death and the truth of what happened
C) Lore's connection to her mother
D) Cassie's engagement to Duke

15. What does the Robinson Crusoe reference represent for Lore?

A) Her desire for adventure and freedom from domestic life
B) Her fear of being alone
C) Her love of reading
D) Her childhood home in El Azteca

16. What does the 80-20 rule represent in the novel?

A) A banking principle Lore uses at work
B) Lore's mother's advice about relationships
C) A cooking recipe Lore's mother taught her
D) A political theory Andres discusses

17. What does the recurring flood imagery in Lore's dreams represent?

A) Her fear of water
B) Her destructive power and desire for freedom
C) Her childhood trauma from Hurricane Alice
D) Her fear of death

Synthesis (Questions 18–20)

18. (Short answer) How does the novel use the theme that truth is malleable to connect Lore's story with Cassie's investigation?

19. (Short answer) How does the novel connect Cassie's family history with Lore's story?

20. (Short answer) What does the novel suggest about the ethics of true crime storytelling through Cassie's choices?

Answer Key

Plot & Sequence

B) 2017 — The present-day chapters are set in 2017, when Cassie discovers the Laredo Morning Times article about Dolores Rivera.
B) A wedding — Lore attends the wedding of Fernando Santos's daughter at the Gran Hotel in Mexico City, where she meets Andres at dinner.
A) A letter and a key to Hotel Botanica room 114 — Oscar tells Lore that Andres left an envelope containing a key and a note for Hotel Botanica, room 114.
C) Mateo Rivera — In the novel's climax, Mateo confesses that he, not Gabriel, killed Andres, having taken his father's gun and truck and followed Andres to the motel.
C) An earthquake — The 1985 Mexico City earthquake devastates the city while Lore and Andres are together in Tlatelolco.
B) She initially told police they all stayed home but actually went to a movie — Lore admits she lied to buy time to think; she had taken the twins to a movie and returned by nine-fifteen.
A) Lore was pregnant at the time of Andres's death — Carlos, drunk, reveals that he found Lore's pregnancy test and showed it to Andres the day before he left for Laredo.
B) He is convicted and imprisoned — Fabian was convicted of killing Russo and remains in prison, due for release in five years.

Character Motivation

B) To control her own narrative and undermine the New York writer's book — Lore explains to Gabriel that giving her perspective to the young, inexperienced reporter would undermine the New York writer's book.
B) She wants to write a real story, not just a blog post — Cassie tells Duke she wants to write a real story about Dolores, not just a blog post.
B) He believed it would be easier for Lore to believe him — Gabriel said he confessed because it would be easier for Lore to believe him than to believe Mateo.
B) To protect Gabriel — After Gabriel confesses to shooting Andres, Lore decides to protect him, washing the twins' clothes and arranging alibis.
B) She is unwilling to let Fabian remain imprisoned — Cassie refuses Lore's offer to confess because she is unwilling to let Fabian remain imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit.

Theme & Symbol

B) The physical evidence of Andres's death and the truth of what happened — The locket, stained with Andres's blood, becomes physical evidence of the crime and the truth Cassie uncovers.
A) Her desire for adventure and freedom from domestic life — Lore identifies with Crusoe's freedom to be who he was, longing for that kind of freedom from her domestic life.
B) Lore's mother's advice about relationships — Lore recounts her mother's advice about the 80-20 rule in relationships during her interview with Cassie.
B) Her destructive power and desire for freedom — In Lore's recurring flood dreams, she becomes liquid, engulfing roads, cars, and homes—the pleasure and power of destructiveness.

Synthesis

Sample answer: Lore admits she misrepresented her first meeting with Andres—they actually met at a wedding and went to a hotel, not Chapultepec Park—and over time the Chapultepec memory replaced the original. Cassie's investigation similarly reveals that the truth of the murder shifts as new evidence emerges: from Fabian's guilt to Gabriel's confession to Mateo's actual guilt. Both women shape narratives to serve their needs, and the novel's final chapter explicitly states that truth is a malleable thing.
Sample answer: Both women carry guilt about their families. Cassie's mother died in childbirth after years of domestic violence, and Cassie feels guilty for leaving her brother Andrew with their abusive father. Lore's choices led to family estrangement and her sons' involvement in a murder cover-up. Their conversations reveal parallel struggles with guilt, secrecy, and maternal protection—Lore even suggests Cassie make her father take responsibility for what he did to her mother and to her.
Sample answer: The novel presents a complex view of true crime ethics. Cassie initially exploits the story for career advancement, but she ultimately refuses to let Lore falsely confess and works to protect the truth. The book suggests that storytelling can be both exploitative and redemptive—Cassie's book is praised as extraordinary journalism, yet Lore still withholds some truths. The ethics depend on whether the storyteller prioritizes truth or marketability, and Cassie's journey from blog writer to book author explores this tension throughout.