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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSPhilippa Hunter, an awkward and artistic American girl who goes by Flip, is dropped off at a Swiss boarding school by her grieving father and his attentive companion, Eunice Jackman, a woman Flip suspects of wanting to replace her late mother. Alone for the first time in her life and assigned a number rather than a name, Flip struggles to fit in with her confident, worldly classmates who quickly nickname her Pill and leave her on the outskirts of every game and conversation. Her only real comfort comes from a chance encounter at Lake Geneva just before school begins, where she meets a tall, serious boy named Paul Laurens and his boisterous bulldog, Ariel. When Ariel leads her up the mountain one Saturday afternoon to a ruined chateau where Paul has been spending his days alone, a real friendship begins, and Flip finds herself sneaking out of school each weekend to meet him.
Free Battle of the Books questions for And Both Were Young
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about And Both Were Young. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book is a girl tormented by the mocking nickname Pill, invented by her roommates?
✓ Answer
And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle
Gloria invents the cruel nickname Pill after Flip admits her real nickname at home. It sticks for most of her miserable early weeks at boarding school and reinforces how she does not fit in.
- First half
In what book does a future surgeon set the broken leg of a dog he rescued from the street?
✓ Answer
And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle
Paul tells Flip how he found his bulldog Ariel injured in the street and nursed him back to health, with his friend Dr. Bejart calling him a very fine dog. The story is part of how Paul reveals his ambition to become a doctor.
- First half
In what book is a girl tied to a dead tree with knotted brown woolen stockings, gagged, and blindfolded?
✓ Answer
And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle
Flip is the only new girl who failed to pull off a courageous deed, so she is bound to a gallows-like dead tree behind the playing fields. The other girls leave her there, planning to come back in half an hour, but Madame Perceval walks past first and unties her.
- Second half
In what book does an art teacher discover that a girl's skis are far too long for her?
✓ Answer
And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle
Madame Perceval measures Flip's hand-me-down skis against her and realizes they're far too long, explaining why she couldn't learn. She fetches a properly sized pair from school and Flip's progress is immediate.
- Second half
In what book does a stranger claim to be the new janitor who keeps the furnace going?
✓ Answer
And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle
When the suspicious stranger grabs Flip on the slope by the school one morning, he tells her he is the new janitor who tends the furnace so the girls stay warm. He stumbles over the words, then presses her about why she skis alone every morning, and the thought of him troubles her afterward.
- Near the end
In what book do girls trick their dirty roommate into reporting to a teacher for fake morning ear inspections?
✓ Answer
And Both Were Young by Madeleine L'Engle
The girls forge a letter in Signorina's handwriting telling Gloria to report for daily ear inspection. Gloria scrubs her ears furiously and shows up, and Signorina plays along, telling her they look fine. The prank works perfectly.
