Piecing Me Together: Chapters 1–16

by Renée Watson
A talented artist and student, Jade looks for ways that she can give back to her community — but she feels like her teachers view her only as an "at risk" teenager rather than seeing her for who she truly is.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–16, Chapters 17–36, Chapters 37–52, Chapters 53–76

Here is a link to our lists for Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Renée Watson.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ironic
    displaying incongruity between what is expected and what is
    When I learned the Spanish word for succeed, I thought it was kind of ironic that the word exit is embedded in it.
  2. humanities
    studies intended to provide general knowledge and skills
    Most things that seem ridiculous to me are normal there, like when my humanities teacher asked, “Who are the invisible people in our community? Who are the people we, as a society, take for granted?”
  3. exquisite
    delicately beautiful
    There is nothing exquisite about my life.
  4. defer
    yield to another's wish or opinion
    How I am someone’s answered prayer but also someone’s deferred dream.
  5. modest
    low or inferior in station or quality
    Within just a block or two, you stop seeing modest apartment complexes and start seeing houses and luxury apartment buildings, restaurants with outdoor patios, and shops of all kinds.
  6. savor
    taste appreciatively
    There aren’t any whole ones left. Just peppermint dust and a few that are broken in half. I take two halves and rest them on my tongue. I close my eyes and suck hard, savoring the cool flavor.
  7. biased
    favoring one person or side over another
    “Okay, well, I’m biased, but still.”
  8. stereotype
    a conventional or formulaic conception or image
    I wonder how this school counselor and her three grandsons can wear a stereotype on their shirts and hats and not care.
  9. orator
    a person who delivers a speech
    She picks up a folder, looks at it, and like an orator who decides to improv instead of using her notes, tosses the folder back onto her desk and asks, “Jade, what do you want?”
  10. mentor
    a wise and trusted guide and advisor
    Each of us will be paired with a mentor.
  11. proactive
    causing something to happen rather than waiting to respond
    “We want to be as proactive as possible, and you know, well, statistics tell us that young people with your set of circumstances are, well, at risk for certain things, and we’d like to help you navigate through those circumstances.”
  12. statistic
    a datum that can be represented numerically
    “We want to be as proactive as possible, and you know, well, statistics tell us that young people with your set of circumstances are, well, at risk for certain things, and we’d like to help you navigate through those circumstances.”
  13. morsel
    a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
    Lee Lee scrapes the bowl and eats the last morsels of melted ice cream.
  14. serenade
    sing and play for somebody
    And then—even though there are plenty of empty seats—he stands right in front of her, as if to serenade her.
  15. discreet
    marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint
    Once we’re full and ready to go, Mom takes foil out of her bag and discreetly wraps up food for us to take.
  16. cohort
    a company of companions or supporters
    “Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Sabrina. I am so honored to kick off another cohort of mentors and mentees,” she says.
  17. regal
    belonging to or befitting a supreme ruler
    She looks regal and carries herself in a way that makes me sit up in my seat.
  18. adage
    a condensed but memorable saying embodying an important fact
    “There is an old adage that says, ‘You can give a man a fish and feed him for a day. You can teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.’”
  19. graze
    break the skin by scraping
    E.J. was okay, barely grazed on his arm.
  20. sustain
    supply with necessities and support
    He’s not working a full-time job, and that money he makes from deejaying and selling mixtapes isn’t going to sustain him.
  21. collage
    a paste-up of pieces to form an artistic image
    “I thought you could add it to your collage materials. Hope it’s useful,” Maxine says.
  22. momentum
    an impelling force or strength
    So low you have to rock yourself a few times to build momentum to get up, but it’s not dirty.
  23. cliche
    a trite or obvious remark
    “I think everyone dreams of leaving home, but trust me, the cliché is true: I’ve been a lot of places and there really is no place like home.”
  24. blare
    make a loud noise
    The radio blares out today’s forecast.
  25. disclaimer
    a voluntary repudiation of legal claim to something
    As soon as we get off the bus, Sam starts giving me disclaimers and warnings.
  26. barren
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    But now, since it’s fall, the park is barren and looks lonely.
  27. excursion
    a journey taken for pleasure
    “Being stuck in the middle. Like, sometimes I hold back at school, you know? Like I don’t ever join in on those what-are-you-doing-this-weekend? conversations, because I know nothing I will say can compare to the weekend excursions those girls at St. Francis go on,” Sam says.
  28. slather
    spread thickly
    Once the bread pops from the toaster, she slathers it with butter and eats, standing.
  29. rain check
    a promise that an offer will be renewed in the future
    “It’s okay. We’ll do a rain check. I’ll be sure to speak with her about our plans,” she says.
  30. belated
    after the expected or usual time
    I turn the corner and walk past Mrs. Parker’s office. When she sees me, she walks to the door and says, “Hope you have a great birthday, Jade.”
    “Oh, it was Saturday. But thank you.”
    “Well, happy belated,” she says.
Created on Mon Apr 30 13:03:28 EDT 2018 (updated Thu Feb 21 14:01:11 EST 2019)

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