Sisters in the Wind: Part One

by Angeline Boulley
This novel follows Ojibwe teenager Lucy Smith as she faces the horrors of her past in the foster system.

This list covers vocabulary from Part One.

Here are links to our lists for the book:

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five.
15 words 40 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. buff
    an ardent fan or follower
    According to my landlord, a history buff, the original owner had swindled local Native American families out of their land with the help of a corrupt Indian Affairs superintendent.
  2. decrepit
    worn and broken down by hard use
    The grand three-story home was somewhat decrepit now, especially the exterior.
  3. ornery
    having a difficult and contrary disposition
    But someone who keeps her cool even when one of them gets ornery.
  4. immaculate
    without error or flaw
    Her sad mood contrasts with the vibrant headscarf tied around her immaculate Afro puff.
  5. cowlick
    a tuft of hair in a different direction from the rest
    He unsuccessfully attempted to smooth the cowlick that made my bangs aim for the sky.
  6. breaststroke
    a swimming style with a frog-like kick and simultaneous arm movements
    “I need help with my breaststroke. Does he ever do private lessons?”
  7. homily
    a sermon on a moral or religious topic
    Miss Mapother silently observed as my dad and I discussed the readings and homily from mass.
  8. austere
    severely simple
    I’d never been to her apartment in Petoskey, but I pictured it as austere as a nunnery.
  9. disingenuous
    not straightforward or candid
    It felt like a disingenuous tactic.
  10. inept
    generally incompetent and ineffectual
    After a brief flurry of attention that overwhelmed me, my classmates decided that I was either stuck up or socially inept to a debilitating degree.
  11. recollection
    something recalled to the mind
    Though I had no recollection of the rest of the night, I awoke the next morning still in my school clothes and surrounded by the thirteen birthday books my dad had gifted me.
  12. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    I did not thank her for continuing to provide breakfast bars for me to take to school every morning, and she did not chide me for it.
  13. aftermath
    the consequences of an event, especially a catastrophic one
    We seldomly spoke in the immediate aftermath of my dad’s passing and funeral, but discarding everything in his closet seemed like a decision that should have included me.
  14. desolate
    having few or no inhabitants
    I had read several novels where the main character was orphaned. Poor, pitiful Sara Crewe in A Little Princess. It was one thing to read it. But to live it was a desolate singularity.
  15. miserly
    characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity
    He wasn’t miserly; he splurged on things that mattered to us.
Created on Mon Mar 09 06:43:55 EDT 2026 (updated Mon Mar 16 11:58:22 EDT 2026)

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