Notes From The Midnight Driver

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. What are Alex’s injuries following his car accident?

2. Who is Alex’s best friend?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Alex initially get into trouble?

2. Why is Alex’s father angry with Alex’s mother?

3. How is Laurie described in the novel?

Chapters 6-7

Reading Check

1. What must Alex do because of his decision to drive drunk?

2. To whom is Alex assigned for community service?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why do the nursing home workers laugh at Alex’s assignment?

2. What is Judge Trent’s reaction to Alex’s request for a new assignment?

Chapters 8-11

Reading Check

1. Whom does Alex take to meet Sol?

2. What does Alex do to finally build a relationship with Sol?

3. What disease is Sol suffering from?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What happens when Alex plays his new song in the nursing home?

2. What lesson has Alex learned from Sol, and what does he request from the judge?

Paired Resource

“Sunrise, Sunset”

• This 4-minute audio is part of the soundtrack from Fiddler on the Roof.
• After the protagonist, Tevye, a Jewish father, marries off one of his daughters, he reflects on his life with her.
• What is the song “Sunrise, Sunset” about? Why might Sol feel a connection to the song? How does the song relate to the novel’s theme of Confronting Illness and Death?

Chapters 12-13

Reading Check

1. With whom do Alex and Laurie intend to spend New Year’s Eve?

2. Who arrives at Alex’s house early in the morning on New Year’s Day?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What events leading up to the New Year’s party create various conflicts for Alex?

2. What does Sol do after asking Alex to leave the nursing home?

Chapters 14-17

Reading Check

1. Whom does Alex ask to help him restore his relationship with Sol?

2. What does Alex find in Sol’s room while looking for his glasses?

3. What talent is Sol revealed to have?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What plan does Alex reveal to Sol, and what is Sol’s reaction to it?

2. How does Alex feel about his music practice with the Cha-KINGS?

Chapters 18-19

Reading Check

1. Whom does Laurie remind Sol of?

2. With whom does Alex go to the Sadie Hawkins Valentine’s Day dance?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is Sol’s response after Alex accuses him of keeping his talent a secret?

2. Why did Sol stop playing his guitar?

3. Why does Alex visit Sol the night of the dance?

Paired Resource

Sadie Hawkins Dance

• This article describes the origins of Sadie Hawkins Day.
• Where did the concept of Sadie Hawkins Day originate from? How is Alex’s reaction to the Sadie Hawkins dance related to the novel’s theme of Self-Discovery and Emotional Maturity for Teenagers?

Chapters 20-22

Reading Check

1. What happens to Alex’s mother when she is retrieving old photos?

2. In what context does Sol say jazz was originally played?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Sol encourage Alex to play his guitar again?

2. What is Alex’s plan to get Sol to play in the concert with him?

3. What does Sol’s key unlock?

Paired Resource

“Jazz”

• This comprehensive encyclopedia article describes the history of jazz. For a brief description, the Summary or the article’s introductory paragraphs may be helpful.
• Students may listen to a 7-minute jazz version of “Sunrise, Sunset” here.
• What influenced the development of jazz? In what historical period did jazz originate? How is jazz related to Alex’s character development in the novel? How is it connected to the theme of Self-Discovery and Emotional Maturity for Teenagers?

Chapters 23-24

Reading Check

1. What does Alex knock to the floor when looking for Sol’s guitar?

2. Whom does Alex invite to the April benefit concert?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Alex realize after visiting the nursing home and discovering that Sol is at the doctor’s office?

2. Why is Laurie upset when Alex meets her in her bedroom?

3. What does Alex do after his emotional reaction to the Judy Box?

Paired Resource

“Emphysema”

• This article from the Mayo Clinic describes emphysema and how it develops.
• What is emphysema? What causes it? How does Sol’s condition help develop the novel’s theme of Confronting Illness and Death?

Chapters 25-27

Reading Check

1. What is the special surprise at the benefit concert?

2. Who is Judy revealed to be?

3. Where is Alex’s final performance in the novel?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How did the judge know Alex would be a good fit for Sol?

2. In what ways does Sol influence Alex’s life?

Recommended Next Reads

Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates

• This novel is about two teens who build a relationship amid difficult home lives, immature decision-making, and difficulties at school.
• Shared topics include juvenile delinquency, confronting stereotypes, divorce, and developing relationships.
• Shared themes include Self-Discovery and Emotional Maturity for Teenagers, Approaching Conflict in Healthy Ways, and Confronting Illness and Death.
• Big Mouth & Ugly Girl on SuperSummary

We Were Here by Matt de la Peña

• This novel is about a boy who is sent to a juvenile detention facility following a fatal accident.
• Shared topics include juvenile delinquency, connections to culture, and reform.
• Shared themes include Self-Discovery and Emotional Maturity for Teenagers, Approaching Conflict in Healthy Ways, and Confronting Illness and Death.
• We Were Here on SuperSummary