Quiz Want to Know a Secret? Freida McFadden

Want to Know a Secret? Book Quiz

Quiz Questions

Test your memory of Want to Know a Secret by Freida McFadden. The quiz covers plot sequence, character motivation, theme/symbolism, and synthesis questions. Mix of multiple‑choice and short‑answer. After all 20 questions you’ll find the answer key with explanations.

Plot / Sequence Questions (8)

  1. What event sets the story in motion?
    Multiple choice
    A) A note taped to April’s front door
    B) A text message that says, “Your son isn’t where you think he is”
    C) A phone call from April’s husband, Elliot
    D) A Facebook post accusing April of cheating

  2. Which happens first in the timeline?
    Multiple choice
    A) April is detained for shoplifting at Helena’s
    B) Juliette (Julie) sends the first anonymous text to April
    C) April kisses Mark Tanner
    D) Brianna is found murdered

  3. What injury does Leo Bressler suffer during the soccer game?
    Multiple choice
    A) A broken arm
    B) A sprained ankle
    C) A bloody nose
    D) A concussion

  4. What does April dig up in her backyard just before Julie and Maria arrive?
    Multiple choice
    A) A burner phone
    B) A photograph of April and Mark
    C) Raffey, Owen’s stuffed giraffe
    D) A threatening note

  5. During the filmed episode at Shady Oaks, what does April’s mother Janet call her?
    Multiple choice
    A) A wonderful daughter
    B) A terrible cook
    C) “Pure evil”
    D) “My sweet girl”

  6. What devastating news does Brianna share with Elliot that April overhears?
    Multiple choice
    A) Brianna is moving to another city
    B) Brianna is pregnant with Elliot’s child
    C) Brianna has reported April to the police
    D) Brianna is marrying someone else

  7. What object does Julie use to send anonymous texts to April?
    Multiple choice
    A) A friend’s smartphone
    B) Keith’s old burner phone
    C) A library computer
    D) A new prepaid phone she bought

  8. According to the epilogue, how does April die?
    Multiple choice
    A) She overdoses on pills
    B) She falls down the stairs
    C) She is shot by the police
    D) Janet bludgeons her with a shovel

Character Motivation Questions (5)

  1. Why does April kiss Mark Tanner?
    Short answer (one or two sentences)

  2. What is Julie’s primary motive for starting to harass April?
    Multiple choice
    A) Jealousy of April’s YouTube success
    B) Revenge for April’s bullying of Leo and suspicion that April murdered Courtney Burns
    C) Boredom with suburban life
    D) Anger that April didn’t invite her to a party

  3. Why does Maria frame the babysitter for shoplifting at Helena’s?
    Multiple choice
    A) Because the babysitter insulted her
    B) To help Carrie get custody and punish the woman who stole Carrie’s husband
    C) Because she enjoys causing trouble
    D) To take attention away from her own secrets

  4. Why does April heavily medicate her mother and keep her in Shady Oaks?
    Short answer (one or two sentences)

  5. Why does Elliot stay with April even after learning about her affairs?
    Multiple choice
    A) He doesn’t care about her infidelity
    B) He wants to protect Bobby from the truth
    C) He is afraid to leave her
    D) He is financially dependent on her

Theme / Symbol Questions (4)

  1. What does the repeated motif of “secrets” in the title represent?
    Multiple choice
    A) The joy of private discoveries
    B) The hidden truths characters use to control and manipulate each other
    C) The importance of privacy in modern life
    D) The unreliability of memory

  2. What does Raffey, Owen’s stuffed giraffe, symbolize?
    Multiple choice
    A) Wealth and social status
    B) The innocence of childhood that gets weaponized in the adult conflict
    C) The bond between Owen and Bobby
    D) The Cooper family’s poverty

  3. How does the theme of “reputation vs. reality” appear in the novel?
    Short answer (one or two sentences)

  4. What does the white SUV represent in the mystery?
    Multiple choice
    A) Elliot’s work car
    B) The ambiguity of guilt and the possibility that Maria is the real killer
    C) April’s secret vehicle for her affairs
    D) Julie’s family car

Synthesis Questions (3)

  1. Compare Julie’s motivations with Maria’s motivations for targeting April. How are they different?
    Short answer (two to three sentences)

  2. The epilogue is ambiguous. What does Janet’s belief that she killed April suggest about the novel’s reliability?
    Short answer (two to three sentences)

  3. In what ways does the novel critique suburban social structures?
    Multiple choice
    A) It celebrates the close‑knit community
    B) It argues for more PTA involvement
    C) It exposes the competition, gossip, and superficiality behind perfect facades
    D) It shows that everyone is inherently good

Answer Key

Plot / Sequence Answers

  1. B – The anonymous text (“Your son isn’t where you think he is”) launches the entire thriller. April finds Bobby missing and the backyard gate open.
  2. C – The kiss occurs early in the narrative (ch. 11), before the shoplifting arrest, Julie’s first text, or Brianna’s murder.
  3. C – In ch. 9–10, Bobby kicks the ball and hits Leo in the face, causing a heavy nosebleed.
  4. C – April digs up Raffey after receiving a text that a “surprise” is buried in her yard (ch. 22).
  5. C – During the livestream, Janet declares April is “pure evil” (ch. 19–20).
  6. B – In ch. 29, Elliot comes home drunk and admits Brianna is pregnant with his child.
  7. B – Julie uses Keith’s old burner phone, which he used during his own affair, to send the anonymous threats (ch. 44).
  8. D – In the epilogue, Janet says she bludgeoned April with a shovel; the police later tell Janet that April will go to jail, leaving the truth unclear.

Character Motivation Answers

  1. Sample answer: April kissed Mark because she felt neglected by her husband Elliot, who was rarely home and gave her little attention.
  2. B – Julie’s harassment begins after she suspects April of bullying Leo and possibly murdering Courtney Burns; she also wants revenge for April’s manipulative treatment of her family.
  3. B – Maria plants a necklace in the babysitter’s purse to trigger the security alarm, helping Carrie gain leverage in her custody case (ch. 12).
  4. Sample answer: April needed to silence her mother because Janet was the sole witness to the murder of Courtney Burns; when Janet tried to recant her alibi, April had her heavily medicated and confined to the nursing home.
  5. C – In ch. 49, when Julie shows Elliot the photo of April kissing Mark, he admits he is afraid to leave her.

Theme / Symbol Answers

  1. B – Nearly every character hides something (affairs, crimes, threats), and secrets are used as weapons throughout the plot.
  2. B – Raffey is a child’s toy, but it becomes a tool for humiliation and proof of Bobby’s supposed theft, reflecting how the adults’ conflict corrupts innocent objects.
  3. Sample answer: April projects a wholesome, kind persona on her YouTube show Sweet Secrets, but in reality she is manipulative, habitually lies, and has committed murder.
  4. B – Maria’s white SUV is seen near Brianna’s home, and in the epilogue Maria hints that her car could have been mistaken for April’s, raising doubt about who actually killed Brianna.

Synthesis Answers

  1. Sample answer: Julie’s motivation stems from a desire for justice and revenge after April’s son hurts Leo and after Julie learns April may have killed Courtney Burns. Maria’s motivation is more ambiguous; she appears jealous of April’s flirtation with Sean and may have her own violent secrets. The epilogue hints that Maria could be the real killer, making her motives darker and more self‑serving.
  2. Sample answer: The ambiguous ending suggests an unreliable narrator. Janet remembers killing April, but the police tell her April will go to jail, so readers cannot be sure what really happened. This reinforces the theme that truth is subjective and that multiple characters have distorted versions of events.
  3. C – The book repeatedly shows women competing over PTA roles, spreading rumors, and maintaining appearances while hiding serious problems (infidelity, infertility, murder). April’s fall from grace illustrates the cruelty underlying the seemingly perfect suburban community.