54 pages • 1 hour read
Acceleration
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During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
CHAPTERS 1-12
Reading Check
1. Duncan’s Lost and Found job is part of what Toronto organization?
2. As described in Chapter 5, Duncan and Wayne once attempted to steal what items, in order to resell them?
3. What ailment eventually caused Jacob’s wife to be on life support?
4. Duncan asks his mother what the fear of water is called in Chapter 7. How does she reply?
5. Why does Duncan’s father have dulled sense of smell and taste?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What’s the nature of Duncan’s recurring dream, first described in Chapter 2?
2. In Chapter 3, the killer writes in his journal that he wants a good name. Why?
3. Why does Vinny always keep his hand in his left pocket?
4. What does Duncan read in the killer’s journal in Chapter 8 that makes him realize the killer is about to start hunting women?
5. How does the killer’s journal inspire a sort of crossroads for Duncan?
Paired Resource
“Horror in YA Lit is a Staple, Not a Trend”
- Kelly Jensen of School Library Journal assesses the place and value of horror in YA literature in this 2013 blog piece.
- In the section of the piece focusing on serial killers, Jensen gives an overall picture of the types of serial killer YA books that were popular at the moment, touching upon how Acceleration of crimes is typically a major plot driver in these stories.
- How does Acceleration fit into Jensen’s discussion of serial killer YA lit? How has YA horror changed since this piece was written in 2013?
- In this starred Publishers Weekly review, Acceleration is praised as being “taut,” calling it a “well-turned thriller.”
- The reviewer notes that themes of Guilt, Forgiveness, and Absolution are central to the book. The reviewer also mentions Duncan’s “desperate need to be a savior.”
- Do you agree or disagree with the reviewer’s assertion that Duncan needs to be seen as a “savior”? What are the connotations of the word “savior”?
CHAPTERS 13-25
Reading Check
1. When a heat wave passes through the Jungle in Chapter 14, where do residents take refuge to stay cool?
2. In Chapter 16, Roach compares his grandmother to the titular creature from what movie?
3. In Duncan’s nightmare from Chapter 18, a nefarious shadow does what to the woman sitting near the driver’s seat?
4. Why does Vinny suggest to Duncan that they start looking for the killer near the site of the animal killings and fires listed in the journal?
5. What sort of work did Roach’s mom do?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What is the anecdote Duncan’s father tells him about one of JFK’s Secret Service guards? What is the purpose of this story?
2. Why does Duncan make the last-minute decision not to leave the killer’s journal with the 52nd police department?
3. How does Duncan’s dream in Chapter 18 connect to the theme of Guilt?
4. How does Duncan deduce that the killer is somehow connected to the Nut Factory Hardware Store?
5. In Chapters 13-25, what is the implicit assertion about how parents’ behavior affects their children? Consider Roach’s experiences as well as Duncan’s.
Paired Resource
“Mason, Wuornos, Ramirez: 3 Famous Killers with Exceptionally Screwed-up Childhoods”
- Teasing out the connection between a severely dysfunctional childhood and becoming a murderer later on in life, this article from A&E looks at the traumatic upbringing of 3 notable serial killers.
- A traumatic childhood is cornerstone of Acceleration and Imprisonment for serial killers, in that it contributes to their desire to kill and also traps them into a certain view of life.
- What similarities do these real-life killers have with Roach? What are the differences?
“Interview with Graham McNamee”
- Penguin Random House’s page for Acceleration features a Q&A with author Graham McNamee about the book, focusing mainly on his process as a writer. (Scroll down to find the interview.)
- McNamee talks about how writing Roach’s scenes of animal abuse, a core moment in Roach’s Acceleration, was extremely difficult for him.
- What struck you most about McNamee’s process for writing Acceleration? Were you surprised to know that he knew the ending of the book before the beginning?
CHAPTERS 26-34
Reading Check
1. What nicknames do Duncan and Vinny give to the security guards they trail in Chapter 26?
2. In Chapter 27, what punishment does Jacob give to Duncan for missing work?
3. Why does Duncan call Wayne in Chapter 29, after following Roach to a house on Cedar Street?
4. What is Roach’s real name?
5. What is the ultimate fate of the journal, as described in Chapter 33?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does Roach end up revealing himself to Duncan? What does he look like?
2. When Duncan enlists Wayne’s help in Chapter 29, how is this moment pivotal to the theme of absolution?
3. Upon covertly entering Roach’s home in Chapter 30, what does Duncan see?
4. How does McNamee use Chapter 31—a newspaper article—to draw out the suspense of Duncan’s pursuit of Roach?
5. Does Duncan find peace at the end of the novel? If yes, how so? If no, why not?
Recommended Next Reads
Bonechiller by Graham McNamee
- The follow-up to Acceleration, Bonechiller is a YA fantasy-horror about a young man named Danny Quinn, who grapples with a soul-stealing demon called Oskankaskatin.
- In addition to actual demons, Danny is haunted by his past, and as such, the novel touches upon themes of Guilt, Forgiveness, and Absolution.
- Like Duncan, Danny deals with common teenage struggles alongside more supernatural/fantastic ones, as he struggles to find meaning in his life during the transition from adolescence into young adulthood.
- Bonechiller on SuperSummary
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
- In this YA thriller novel, teenager Jazz is the son of the world’s most infamous serial killers. So when a new string of murders strikes the town of Lobo’s Nod, Jazz realizes he, as someone with unique insight into the mind of a serial killer, must find the killer.
- Jazz’s motivation for finding the killer is, in part, a Second Chance. It is another opportunity to right the wrongs of his father, and to prove that he is a force for good, not evil.
- Similar to Duncan, Jazz has an extremely pessimistic worldview, which colors the tone of the entire novel, which is written primarily in first-person.
- I Hunt Killers on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
CHAPTERS 1-12
Reading Check
1. The Toronto Transit Commission (Chapter 1)
2. Toilets (Chapter 5)
3. A stroke (Chapter 6)
4. Hydrophobia (Chapter 7)
5. Because his work on the assembly line has him in close contact with glue that deadens his sense of smell and taste (Chapter 9)
Short Answer
1. He is swimming at Kayuga Beach, when suddenly he hears a girl screaming. He comes up for air, then dives down again. The next time he surfaces, Duncan realizes that the girl is going to drown: He sees her eyes before she goes under. Then, his own air runs out. (Chapter 2)
2. The killer writes that because otherwise the media will give him a name, and he might not like their selection. He needs a name because everyone will know about him soon. (Chapter 3)
3. Vinny has a birth defect. He has a withered arm with a claw-like hand missing two fingers. (Chapter 4)
4. Duncan reads an entry in the killer’s journal about watching women on a subway. This makes Duncan realize that the killer is a hunter, and that he’s now ready to start attacking women on the subway. (Chapter 8)
5. When Duncan realizes that the journal is a staging ground for the killer’s plans, he knows he has a choice to make. He can either let it all play out, or he can take a stand and try and stop the killer. Duncan is extremely pessimistic prior to finding the journal, but the journal gives him hope: He can find redemption by stopping the killer. (Chapters 1-12)
CHAPTERS 13-25
Reading Check
1. The Ignatius Howard Public Library (Chapter 14)
2. Alien (Chapter 16)
3. The shadow peels the woman’s face off. (Chapter 18)
4. Because, according to Vinny, killers always start their murder sprees close to home (Chapter 20)
5. She was a prostitute. (Chapter 21)
Short Answer
1. The guard still blamed himself for failing to save JFK, even 15 years after JFK’s assassination. Duncan’s father tells this story because of its moral about Guilt and how it can destroy one’s life. Duncan’s father wants him to let go of the past. (Chapter 13)
2. He senses they do not take the journal seriously; he knows that they will simply file it away and ignore it. Rather than losing it to their files, he decides to keep it instead. (Chapter 15)
3. In the dream, Duncan attempts to convince the woman to leave, to escape the subway car. However, he is unable to save her. This dream is a manifestation of the guilt Duncan still feels over Maya; indeed, it blends elements of his incident with Maya with the women from Roach’s journal. (Chapter 18)
4. Roach had written a conversation on a receipt taped in the journal. Duncan uses his shower to steam the receipt off the page, which reveals that the receipt is from Nut Factory Hardware Store. (Chapter 23)
5. Parents deeply affect their children’s mood, behavior, and life outcomes. As the reader sees with Roach’s journal, his mother’s poor parenting and his abusive grandmother had a disastrous effect on Roach’s mentality. By contrast, Duncan has a relatively good relationship with his parents. In a moment of peace, the reader sees him eating defrosted pizza and watching TV with his parents. Duncan’s father actively encourages Duncan to change the course of his life. (Chapters 13-25)
CHAPTERS 26-34
Reading Check
1. Red and Jumbo (Chapter 26)
2. Unloading a truck (Chapter 27)
3. He asks Wayne to pick a lock for him. (Chapter 29)
4. Scott Weber (Chapter 32)
5. Duncan burns it at a barbecue. (Chapter 33)
Short Answer
1. Roach comes into Duncan’s workplace and asks about a missing journal, saying he lost it two weeks ago. Roach’s most notable physical feature is his thick glasses. (Chapter 28)
2. Duncan’s cycle with Wayne is now inverted: Whereas Wayne introduced Duncan to crime, now Duncan brings Wayne back into it. However, Duncan’s ethical dilemma is short-lived, as Wayne’s help proves his suspicions about Roach, and ultimately Duncan gets absolution by saving the day and killing Roach. (Chapter 29)
3. He sees an old woman sitting in front of a TV. Downstairs, he sees jars filled with formaldehyde containing animal parts and corpses. There are also photos of anorexic woman on the walls, rodent skulls on the window ledge, and a police scanner. (Chapter 30)
4. The newspaper article is an objective report of Duncan’s fight with Roach on the subway platform, with the headline “SUBWAY ASSAULT ENDS IN DEATH.” However, the article does not say who died, leaving the reader in suspense whether Roach or Duncan was the one to die. (Chapter 31)
5. The closest Duncan gets to peace is relief from his guilt. When he returns to the public pool, he finally comes to terms with Maya’s death, absolving himself from the guilt he feels over her death as he dives under the water, no longer afraid. The novel concludes on an optimistic note, with Duncan in a much better place. (Chapter 34)
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