Play Along Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Characters, and Themes

(Windy City #4, Liz Tomforde, 2024)

This quiz covers the full arc of Play Along, from the Las Vegas wedding to the epilogue. Questions are grouped by type: plot/sequence, character motivation, theme/symbol, and synthesis. Answers with brief explanations follow.

Plot & Sequence (8 questions)

1. Where does Isaiah first hide when he overhears Kennedy's hiring conversation with Dr. Fredrick?

A) In the team's equipment room
B) In the women's restroom at the clubhouse
C) In the dugout tunnel
D) In the owner's office

2. What song does Kennedy choose as her walk-up song for the wedding chapel?

3. What does Isaiah give Kennedy as a wedding ring after they agree to the fake marriage?

A) A diamond from a jewelry store
B) His late mother's wedding ring
C) A silicone band from the team store
D) A ring he won in a poker game

4. Who is the team owner who threatens to fire Kennedy and Isaiah for violating the code of conduct?

5. When Isaiah gives Kennedy divorce papers at the end, what does she write on the signature line instead of her name?

6. What natural event triggers Isaiah's anxiety and panic attacks?

A) Earthquakes
B) Thunderstorms
C) Blizzards
D) Heat waves

7. What position does Kennedy accept at the end of the book?

A) Head of Health and Wellness (team doctor)
B) Athletic trainer for the minor league
C) Assistant to the owner
D) Physical therapist for the bullpen

8. Why do trade rumors about Isaiah surface in the final chapters?

A) He wants to leave Chicago for a bigger contract
B) He asked his agent to be open to a San Francisco offer
C) He had a fight with Kai
D) The team wants to trade him for a pitcher

Character Motivation (5 questions)

9. Why does Kennedy initially agree to the fake marriage with Isaiah?

A) She wants to spite her ex-fiancé
B) To save her job and avoid a scandal
C) She is in love with him
D) Her family pressures her to marry

10. Why does Isaiah propose the six-month fake marriage arrangement?

11. Why does Kennedy ask Isaiah to teach her how to be intimate and affectionate?

A) She wants to win back Connor
B) She lacks experience due to her arranged-marriage upbringing
C) She wants to impress her mother
D) She is writing a research paper

12. Why does Isaiah refuse to touch Kennedy when she is drunk in Las Vegas?

13. Why does Kennedy turn down the lead doctor job in San Francisco?

A) She dislikes the city
B) She wants to stay with Isaiah
C) She is afraid of the interview
D) Dr. Fredrick convinced her to stay

Theme & Symbol (4 questions)

14. What does Isaiah's mother's wedding ring symbolize in the story?

15. What does the song “Obsessed” by Mariah Carey represent in the narrative?

A) Isaiah's jealousy
B) Their wedding song and public declaration
C) Kennedy's obsession with work
D) A song from the team's playlist

16. What do the sneakers Isaiah buys Kennedy in Las Vegas symbolize?

17. What does the recurring phrase “play along” signify in the novel?

A) The game of baseball
B) The pretense of their marriage becoming real
C) A board game they play
D) Isaiah's strategy for winning

Synthesis (3 questions)

18. How does the theme of gender discrimination shape Kennedy's career arc from the prologue to the ending?

19. Compare how Isaiah and Kennedy each handle vulnerability—Isaiah with grief and Kennedy with control.

20. What does the epilogue's remarriage signify about their relationship's growth?

A) They repeat the same mistake
B) They choose each other intentionally, transforming an accident into commitment
C) They marry for convenience again
D) They elope to avoid family

Answer Key

1. B – In the prologue, Isaiah hides in the women's restroom at the Windy City Warriors clubhouse and overhears Dr. Fredrick's sexist hiring conversation with Kennedy.

2. “Obsessed” by Mariah Carey – Kennedy chooses this song as her walk-up song in the Vegas chapel (Chapter 4).

3. B – Isaiah gives Kennedy his late mother's wedding ring in Chapter 8, explaining he always intended to give it to the woman he married.

4. Arthur Remington – The team owner threatens to terminate them for violating the code of conduct (Chapter 6).

5. “I love you” – Instead of signing her name, Kennedy writes that she loves him on the divorce papers (Chapter 38).

6. B – Isaiah's mother died in a storm when he was thirteen; thunderstorms trigger his anxiety (Chapter 19).

7. A – Reese offers Kennedy the Head of Health and Wellness position after Dr. Fredrick is fired (Chapter 37).

8. B – Isaiah tells his agent he'd be open to a San Francisco offer so he could follow Kennedy if she wanted (Chapter 35).

9. B – Kennedy agrees to the fake marriage to protect her job and avoid the scandal of a Vegas wedding (Chapter 6).

10. Isaiah proposes the arrangement to protect Kennedy's work record and keep her close until she secures her dream job in California (Chapter 6).

11. B – Kennedy explains she was never free to date for love due to her arranged-marriage background, so she asks Isaiah to teach her intimacy (Chapter 13).

12. Isaiah says he wouldn't touch a drunk woman and wants her attention sober (Chapter 7).

13. B – Kennedy turns down the San Francisco job to stay with Isaiah, deciding she wants to be with him (Chapter 33–34).

14. The ring symbolizes family legacy, real commitment, and Isaiah's hope for a genuine marriage—it is his mother's ring, given with intention (Chapters 8, 42).

15. B – “Obsessed” is their wedding song; Isaiah uses it as his walk-up song and points at Kennedy, publicly declaring his feelings (Chapter 16).

16. The sneakers symbolize care, comfort, and a fresh start—Isaiah buys them because her feet hurt, and she wears them again at their remarriage (Chapters 2, 42).

17. B – “Play along” is the game metaphor for their fake marriage, which gradually becomes real as their feelings evolve (Chapters 6, 35).

18. Kennedy faces sexism from Dr. Fredrick, who demotes her to athletic trainer and assigns menial tasks. She endures it to protect her career, but eventually, after players file complaints, Fredrick is fired, and Kennedy is promoted to team doctor—showing how systemic bias can be overcome with support and self-advocacy (Prologue, Chapters 9, 30, 37).

19. Isaiah hides his grief behind humor and a constant smile, while Kennedy hides her vulnerability behind control and perfectionism. Over the course of the book, they both learn to open up—Isaiah shares his storm trauma, and Kennedy admits she wants to be touched and loved (Chapters 3, 19, 24).

20. B – The epilogue shows them remarrying intentionally on the same date, with Kennedy wearing the sneakers and Isaiah's mother's ring, celebrating that they chose each other for real (Chapter 42).

Want to revisit the story? Check the main book page, questions and answers, or the ending explained.