Don’t Look Behind You

Chapter Questions and Answers

Mr. Cassidy – English 9

Author-Lois Duncan

Genre – Fiction

Chapter 1-

1. Point of View – First Person

2. Setting – Norwood, Va during the spring, right before school ends
3. Characters –

April Corrigan – 11th grade – Star tennis player

Bram Corrigan 3rd grade his eyes are different colors
Liz Corrigan – mother, writes children’s books
George Corrigan – father works for an airline
Lorelei Gilber – April’s maternal grandmother, drives a Porsche
Porky – the family dog
Steve Chandler – April’s boyfriend
Sherry Blaugrand- April’s best friend

4. What happens at the end of Chapter 1? Lorelei has signed April out of school.

Chapter 2 –

1. Characters:
Max Barber- FBI agent and close family friend “Uncle Max”
Jim Peterson – Body guard assigned by Max to protect the family

2. What was the news at home? Her dad was shot at while testifying in court.
3. Who has the dad been secretly working for? The FBI
4. What is a “minivay”? A mini vacation Where are they going? Richmond, VA

Chapter 3 –

1. Setting – Hotel in Richmond, VA

2. What does April overhear on the phone? Her family is in danger and they could be gone
for a long time.

Chapter 4 –

1. What was the verdict at the trial? Guilty

2. What did April do that she wasn’t supposed to do? She sent a letter to Steve
3. How did she manage it? She had a stamped envelope from a magazine
Chapter 5 –

1. Why did Jim go to the mall? To get clothes, toiletries, and games and things to entertain
the famiy.
2. What was unusual about the maid? “She” had a 5 o’clock shadow and very dark eyes
3. Why did the mother call max? Because the maid tried to break into the room, Jim is
missing after getting into a fight with the maid.
4. What happened when Max got there? They had to relocate to another place. They went to
Williamsburg.
5. Who was the maid? A hitman named Mike Vamp, the “vampire”.

Chapter 6 –
1. Setting: A motel in Williamsburg, VA
2. Who was there when they arrived? Dad
3. What had happened to Jim? He was killed by Vamp
4. What will they have to do now? Enter the Federal Witness Protection Program.
5. Who is Rita Green? She is with the US Marshall’s, she will set them up in the witness
protection program.
6. What are some of the procedures for this process? They will have to get new identies,
new names, change their appearance, live somewhere new, etc.

Chapter 7 –

1. What are their new names?

Father – Philip Weber
April – Valerie Weber
Mother – Ellen Paul Weber
Bram – Jason Weber
2. Where are they being relocated? Grove City, Florida
3. Why did April/Val have to cut her hair? She was too recognizable with her long blonde
hair.
4. Whom did she talk to on the plane? Abbey Keller
5. Why was Bram supposed to wear sunglasses? To cover his unusual eyes
6. Why would Porky have liked their new house? Because the furniture was old and he
would have been able to get on it.
7. Describe the new house – Old, in a remote area, not clean, no air conditioning, small,
used or dirty furniture.
8. Where was the new house in relation to the town? In a remote, hard to find area.
Chapter 8 –

1. Setting: Grove City, Florida

2. New Characters –
Kim Stanfield – high school girl, Larry’s cousin, plays tennis
Larry Bushnell – high school guy, plays tennis
Tom Geist – Federal Marshall
3. Where does April go when she wakes up the next day? She walks around town and ends
up at the tennis courts.
4. What does she end up doing? Playing tennis with Larry, she also meets Kim

Chapter 9 –

1. What kind of business was the father given? Zip-Pic and photo processing business
2. How were their finances? Be specific- they did not have money like they did in Virginia.
Dad was expected to make a living from his business. They were given some funds to
get started and when they government sold the family’s house and belongings, they
would get more money.
3. What was the parents’ argument over? Mom wanted to continue to write books.
4. Where was Jason’s secret hideout? In the attic, he could get up there through an opening
in the ceiling of his closet.
5. Who did Val encounter on her date with Larry? Abbey Keller. Why is that ironic? She
never expected to see her again, especially in Grove City, FL

Chapter 10 –

1. What did Larry do in the theater that Val did not like? He put his arm around her
2. Why didn’t she leave when she went to the lobby? It was pouring rain
3. What startling news does Val have for her when she gets home? She cannot play tennis
because it might draw attention to her and the family.
4. What two things happen in this chapter that might blow their cover?
A. Larry notices Jason’s unusual eyes because Bram did not have his dark glasses or
contacts on.
B. Abbey Keller is suspicious of her because April had told her that her name was April
Gross, not Valerie Weber.
Chapter 11 –

1. Where are they going on a minivay and why? To Disney World, to try to get out of the
house and have some fun.
2. What is the father’s explanation for why he got them into this mess in the first place? He
wanted to be a hero, to do the right thing.
3. Why do they split up in the afternoon? Jason wants to stay and ride the rides, mom wants
to go to Epcot. Valerie agrees to stay with Jason.
4. How does Jason act at the park? He is hyper, goes from one ride to another. He does not
want to wear his contacts, so Valerie buys him sunglasses.
5. Whom does Val run into at the park? Her old high school doubles tennis partner, Jodi
Simmons. Why is this ironic? Because you would not expect to see someone from your
old home at Disney World.
6. What startling news does this person have for Val? Sherry, her best friend, his dating
Val’s old boyfriend, Steve.

Chapter 12 –

1. What is the mood of the family when they leave the park? Angry, upset, depressed.
2. What is Val’s mood for the rest of the week? Depressed, blue, mad, grumpy
3. Why does Kim call Val? To see if Val is still mad at Larry. Larry wants to see her again,
so Val tells Kim to have in call her. She wanted an apology, but did not get one.
4. What happened at the party that Val went to? She drank punch with alchol in it, Larry
put the moves on her. They had a fight.
5. What news does Tom Geist bring to the house? Why is it not good news? Loftin, dad’s
boss at the airline, was murdered. It is not good because they may have to stay in hiding
even longer. They don’t know who hired Vamp, the hit man.
6. What does Val get money for? The government sold her bedroom furniture and she was
given the money.
7. Why won’t Val be able to apply to Duke? Too many people might know her there.
8. What does dad say may never be possible? She may never get to go back to her old life.

Chapter 13 -

1. How much money had Val received from her father? $400.00
2. What does Val tell her parents she is doing? Spending the weekend at Kim’s.
3. What is she really going to do? Fly to home to Virginia
4. How did she get to the airport? A bus. What two people did she call from the airport?
Steve and her grandmother
5. What was her grandmother’s reaction? Don’t come!!
6. Who met her at the airport? Steve

Chapter 14 –

1. What does Steve tell her about the letter she sent him? He never got it.
 2. What does she know that really means? It was probably taken by Vamp and so she might
be responsible for Jim’s death.
3. What makes April/Val mad at Steve at the airport? He tells her that he is dating Sherry.
4. What is unusual when they get to the gate at her grandmother’s condo? The guard won’t
let her in, he calls Lorelei for permission.
5. What surprised her when she rang the buzzer at her grandmother’s apartment? She heard
a dog barking.
6. What was wrong with her grandmother and how did it happen? She was bruised and had
a broken arm. Mke Vamp broke into her apartment and beat her up trying to get her tell
him with the family was hiding.
7. What was Max’s reaction to the grandmother’s call? He was out of it, he could not help
her.
8. What has her grandmother decided to do? Go to Florida and join her family.
9. Who was responsible for what had happened to her grandmother? How did April/Val
know? Mike Vamp, grandmother described him, especially his dark eyes.

Chapter 15 –

1. Why couldn’t her grandmother take a lot of things with her? She drove a Porsche, it was
too small to carry a lot of stuff.
2. Who else is going besides Lorelei and April? Porky
3. Why does Lorelei tell the guard she is going to New England? In case anyone is trying to
find her or the family.
4. What kind of feeling does April/Val have while they are at the bank? Why did they go to
the bank? April feels like they are being watched/followed. They went to the bank to get
cash. They did not want to use credit cards, thay way no one could track them.
5. Where do the stop for the night? Petersburg, VA
6. What does Porky bark at when they stop? A black Camaro
7. What is now ironic about the relationship between the grandmother and granddaughter?
April/Val is now caring for Lorelei.
8. What does April imagine in the motel room after the lights are out? Some one is trying to
break into the room.
9. All of the cars are gone in the moring except theirs and which other one? The black
Camaro.
10. What did they have to get before they left? A map. What does April notice in the mid-
afternoon in the rear view mirror? The black Camaro.

Chapter 16 –

1. What does April suspect as they are driving? They are being followed by someone in a
black Camaro
2. What happens when she speeds up and passes the station wagon? She gets pulled over by
the police and receives a speeding ticket.
3. What does April do to lose the Camaro? She cuts across 3 lanes of traffic and exits the
highway without signaling.
4. Where did they stop for the night? St. Augustine, FL
 5. What do they realize is missing? The map with the route marked to Grove City, FL
6. Who apparently has it? Mike Vamp
7. Why do they keep driving instead of spending the night? They want to get back and try
to save their family.
8. How is the weather when they reach Grove City? Very stormy, heavy rain, hard to see.
9. Why is this good? It would be difficult for someone to find April’s house.
10. What do they see when they pull into the driveway? Her parent’s car in a ditch.

Chapter 17-

1. What does April assume has happened? Mom found out April was not at Kim’s. Mom
had been drinking, took off to find April, had an accident.
2. Why does she phone Larry’s house? To see if her mom or parents were there. What does
she find out that Larry has inadvertently done? Given Mike Vamp information that led
him to the family.
3. Whom did April see at the window? Mike Vamp
4. What did April now realize about the letter? Vamp had intercepted it
5. Where does he lock them up? In her parent’s walk in closet.
6. Why is this not as bad as it seems? Because there is an access to the attic and April can
get out that way.

Chapter 18 –

1. What does April do once they are locked in the closet? She climbs up into the attic.
2. What room does she go to? Jason’s
3. Why didn’t she go out the window? It is too small
4. How was she able to make it out of the house undetected? She thought Vamp would be
in the living room and so she went out the back.
5. What gave her away once she was outside? Porky started barking
6. Where does she get trapped? In her grandmother’s car
7. What does she do to the hitman? She uses her tennis racket to hit him over the head. It
causes him to fall into the ditch which was full of running water.
8. Who found him? Tom Geist
9. What do Lorelei and April’s mother have in common? They both have broken arms.
10. What does Tom Geist tell them about the program? They won’t give them a second
chance. Anything that they do from now on, is on their own.
11. What do they decide to do? Start over again
12. What does April say she will do differently? She will pick out her new name.

Epilogue-

1. What is the setting? New location during the Christmas season

2. Identify the job for each character-
a. April worked at Jamba Juice
b. Lorelei worked in a boutique
c. Dad was working part-time in a sporting goods store
 d. Mom was working for an insurance company

3. Why does April hang up the prism? She felt like she could start again, she was hopeful
about her new life.
4. What is the prism a symbol of? New beginnings, hopefulness
5. Explain the two meanings of the title of this novel.

1. Don’t look behind you - someone is after you – The family running from the mob
2. Don’t look behind you – you can never go back to the way things were in the past, you
need to look forward to make a new life.