Quiz The Boyfriend Freida McFadden

The Boyfriend Quiz – 20 Questions Across the Whole Book

This quiz covers the full story of The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden. It includes plot / sequence questions, character motivation questions, theme / symbol questions, and synthesis questions in multiple‑choice and short‑answer formats. After the questions you will find the complete answer key with brief explanations.

If you need a refresher on the story, start with our book overview, check the questions and answers page, or read the ending explained.

Quiz (20 Questions)

Part 1: Plot / Sequence (8 questions)

  1. Short answer: In the prologue, the unnamed narrator fears that if he kisses the girl he loves, he will do what?

  2. Multiple choice: What disturbs Sydney on her first date with Kevin?
    a) He orders for her and insults her arms
    b) He brings his mother on the date
    c) He steals her wallet
    d) He is secretly married

  3. Short answer: Which building does Sydney discover Bonnie’s body in?

  4. Multiple choice: What does Tom’s friend Slug suggest doing after Tom kills his father?
    a) Call the police and confess
    b) Bury the body and clean up evidence
    c) Leave town immediately
    d) Frame Tom’s mother

  5. Short answer: What object does Sydney find in Randy’s toilet tank that reveals the true killer?

  6. Multiple choice: How does Gretchen poison Sydney in chapter 62?
    a) Cyanide in her wine
    b) Oleander in the cake
    c) Arsenic in her tea
    d) A sedative in her coffee

  7. Short answer: Who does Tom kill in the epilogue?

  8. Multiple choice: What happens to Randy at the end of the book?
    a) He marries Gretchen
    b) He is arrested for murders he didn’t commit
    c) He is stabbed to death by Gretchen
    d) He moves away with Syd

Part 2: Character Motivation (5 questions)

  1. Short answer: Why does Tom agree to keep Daisy’s murders secret after the Dairy Queen scene?

  2. Multiple choice: What is the main reason Sydney hesitates to report Randy’s lack of alibi to Detective Jake? a) She is afraid of Randy
    b) She wants to protect Gretchen’s happiness
    c) She doesn’t trust Jake
    d) She believes Randy is innocent

  3. Short answer: Why does Alison blackmail Tom?

  4. Multiple choice: What drives Tom to kill his father?
    a) His father threatened Tom’s mother
    b) His father made predatory comments about Daisy
    c) His father tried to kill Tom first
    d) His father was about to report Tom to the police

  5. Short answer: What motivates Gretchen (Daisy) to murder Brandi Healey?

Part 3: Theme / Symbol (4 questions)

  1. Multiple choice: In the book, what does the repeated motif of blood most clearly represent for Sydney? a) Love and passion
    b) Vulnerability and danger
    c) Wealth and status
    d) Freedom and escape

  2. Short answer: What does the scrunchie that Sydney finds in Tom’s apartment symbolize?

  3. Multiple choice: The overturned rug in Tom’s home after his father’s disappearance is a symbol of what?
    a) A clean break from the past
    b) Hidden violence and cover‑up
    c) Tom’s love for interior design
    d) Poverty in the Brewer household

  4. Short answer: How does the book use the ant farm (introduced by Randy) as a symbol?

Part 4: Synthesis (3 questions)

  1. Short answer: How does Sydney’s von Willebrand disease tie into the larger themes of trust and deception?

  2. Multiple choice: Which character represents the idea that obsessive love can coexist with extreme violence? a) Tom
    b) Kevin
    c) Randy
    d) Jake

  3. Short answer: In the epilogue, Sydney throws away Tom’s confessional note. What does this decision tell us about her transformation by the end of the novel?

Answer Key

1. The narrator fears he will strangle her. (Evidence: prologue – he confesses that if she reciprocates and they are alone, he will strangle her.)

2. a) He orders for her and insults her arms – Kevin orders for Sydney, dismisses her Diet Coke, and calls her arms flabby, establishing his control and manipulation.

3. Bonnie’s apartment – Sydney finds Bonnie’s mutilated body after following a blood trail in her own building.

4. b) Bury the body and clean up evidence – Slug directs Tom to line the trunk with garbage bags, wrap the body in a rug, and bury it. He also advises on cleaning blood.

5. A freezer bag containing locks of hair tied with different‑colored ribbons – this is the trophy evidence that reveals Randy is actually the killer (though later we learn Gretchen planted it).

6. b) Oleander in the cake – Gretchen poisons Sydney with oleander; Sydney tastes a bitter, floral flavor in the cake.

7. Tom kills Kevin – the epilogue shows a note from Tom saying “Kevin won’t be bothering you ever again.”

8. c) He is stabbed to death by Gretchen – Gretchen stabs Randy to death while Sydney watches, planning to frame him for all the murders.

9. Tom loves Daisy and cannot bring himself to hurt her, even knowing she is a psychopath. He also fears that Chief Driscoll would never believe him. (Evidence: chapter 61 – he decides to keep her secret to protect himself and because he loves her.)

10. b) She wants to protect Gretchen’s happiness – After Randy shows Sydney an engagement ring, Sydney feels she cannot expose his lack of alibi because it would ruin their relationship.

11. Alison saw Tom kissing Brandi Healey before Brandi disappeared and threatens to tell Chief Driscoll unless Tom breaks up with Daisy.

12. b) His father made predatory comments about Daisy – In chapter 26, Tom’s father drunkenly says something predatory about Daisy, triggering Tom to stab and slash his throat.

13. Jealousy – Daisy was jealous of Brandi’s relationship with Tom and lured her away to kill her.

14. b) Vulnerability and danger – Sydney’s nosebleeds and bleeding disorder symbolize her physical vulnerability, while blood trails and blood‑fetish reveal the danger surrounding her.

15. The scrunchie represents Bonnie’s presence in Tom’s apartment and serves as evidence that Tom (or someone close to him) was involved in her murder. It later connects Bonnie to Gretchen/Daisy.

16. b) Hidden violence and cover‑up – The missing rug after Tom’s father’s murder symbolizes the attempt to hide evidence, while the bloodstain on the sofa remains.

17. The ant farm represents Randy’s controlling, secretive nature and also parallels the way the killer collects trophies (the hair). It also foreshadows Randy’s eventual death when Gretchen smashes it.

18. Sydney’s bleeding disorder makes her seem fragile, yet she repeatedly trusts people who exploit that vulnerability (Kevin, Tom, Gretchen). Her body’s honesty contrasts with the lies she accepts, and her blood literally becomes evidence.

19. a) Tom – Tom’s love for Daisy is genuine, yet he fantasizes about killing her and later kills his father. He also threatens violence to protect her and ultimately runs off with a confessed serial killer.

20. Sydney chooses to move on rather than pursue justice. By discarding the evidence, she signals that she has hardened and is willing to accept ambiguity – and perhaps gratitude toward Tom for eliminating Kevin – rather than remain a victim.