For Keeps
Westley Watende Omari Moore
What was Wes Moore’s full name
2 years
How many years did Wes’s Mom sleep on the couch after his Dad died?
She was worried for his safety.
Why did Wes’s Mom want to send him to a private school in the Bronx?
He was reciting song lyrics from the radio
What did Wes do one day in the car that made his Mama really mad at him?
He was dumped out of his bed because he wouldn’t get up.
What happened to Wes on his first morning at military school?
They numbed his misdiagnosed sore throat and he really had acute epiglottitis that caused swelling and it covered his air passages to his lungs.
What did the hospital do that caused Wes’s father to suffocate and eventually die?
Ford Maverick
What kind of car did his Mom drive?
Riverdale Country School
What was the name of the school he entered in 3rd grade in the Bronx?
Aunt BB
Who went with Wes to confront Lateshia for hitting his little sister, Shani?
He got lost in the woods.
What happened to Wes when he left for the train station?
Nikki’s Dad had been competing with her step-dad by sending letters, checks, and calls. After Wes’s Dad died, those things stopped for Nikki.
What happened that hurt Nikki more after Wes’s Dad died?
Crack
When Wes was eavesdropping on his Mom and grandparent’s conversation when they first arrived in the Bronx, what did he hear about that he never heard of before?
Drugs, gangs, and guns
What caused a 61 percent jump in the murder rate in the Bronx during the decade of the 1980s?
Painting his nickname on the wall on Laconia Avenue
What was Wes doing when the cops in a car stopped and laid him out on the hood of their car?
She had asked friends and relatives to help her and his grandparents gave all of their savings to send him.
What did Wes later find out about his mother’s sacrifice to send him to the military school?
He was host of his own public affairs radio show and she was his new writing assistant.
How did Wes’s mother, Joy meet his father, Wesley?
When the street lights went on
What was the signal for Wes to come home?
They had to act a certain way at school and a different way on the streets at home.
Why did Justin and Wes feel like chameleons?
He accidentally hit Shani in the mouth
What was the final straw at home that caused Wes’s mother to slap him across the face?
In third person (“This plebe would like to....”)
How did a plebe refer to himself?
Wes hit Nikki.
What did Wes get into trouble for while playing with his 9-year old sister, Nikki?
It was a meeting place for all kinds of people, from the high school all-star to the drug dealers.
Why did Wes call the local neighborhood basketball court a “sanctuary"?
A fight broke out
What happened when Wes invited his school friends to come and play basketball with his neighborhood?
Someone who moved packages from drug suppliers to the dealers.
Shae was a “runner”, what was a runner?
Wayne, Pennsylvania
Where was this military academy?