"One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia, List 10

In the summer of 1968, three sisters travel to California to visit their estranged mother. While there, they learn about the fight for equality and civil rights.

This list covers "Glorious Hill"–"Afua."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6, List 7, List 8, List 9, List 10

Here are links to our lists for other other books by Rita Williams-Garcia: P.S. Be Eleven, Gone Crazy in Alabama, Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
33 words 42 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. glorious
    having great beauty and splendor
    Like I was having the time of my life, flying down that glorious hill.
  2. settle
    become established in a position, as on a surface or ground
    Grateful that Hirohito would soon tire his “sisters” out, I settled into my book on the porch.
  3. obviously
    unmistakably
    Obviously they were a part of Hirohito’s plan to sneak up on me.
  4. unaware
    not having or showing knowledge or understanding
    He smiled, pleased to have caught me unaware.
  5. snicker
    laugh quietly
    Vonetta and Delphine snickered at Hirohito’s carefree choice of words.
  6. plead
    appeal or request earnestly
    Instead, Vonetta and Fern—mostly Vonetta— screamed and danced around us, pleading to take my turn on the go-kart.
  7. hunch
    round one's back by bending forward
    I sat hunched over, holding on to the rope, my big sneakers on the turn bar.
  8. route
    an established line of travel or access
    None of that concerned anyone on the parade route.
  9. perch
    sit, as on a branch
    Some even climbed oak trees and perched in branches for a good spot.
  10. registration
    the act of registering for something
    Every­ where you turned there were college students in T-shirts, signing people up for sickle cell anemia testing and voter registration.
  11. awkward
    lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance
    Our play was awkward, with Sister Pat following us around with the microphone, but we continued on as if we’d rehearsed it that way.
  12. amplify
    increase the volume of
    She soon overcame her amplified voice and proved a bigger ham than Vonetta on her showiest and crowiest days.
  13. brandish
    move or swing back and forth
    Janice brandished her silver cap gun at us tired and scared runaway slaves more than Sister Pat’s script had called for.
  14. script
    a written version of a play or other dramatic composition
    Janice brandished her silver cap gun at us tired and scared runaway slaves more than Sister Pat’s script had called for.
  15. dispersed
    distributed or spread over a considerable extent
    "I birthed a black nation
    From my womb black creation
    spilled forth
    to be
    stolen
    shackled
    dispersed.”
  16. dispatch
    send away towards a designated goal
    “I dispatched black warriors
    raged against unjust barriers
    to find
    the black and strong had fallen
    divided
    deceived
    overcome.”
  17. rage
    behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
    “I dispatched black warriors
    raged against unjust barriers
    to find
    the black and strong had fallen
    divided
    deceived
    overcome.”
  18. unjust
    not equitable or fair
    “I dispatched black warriors
    raged against unjust barriers
    to find
    the black and strong had fallen
    divided
    deceived
    overcome.”
  19. deceive
    cause someone to believe an untruth
    “I dispatched black warriors
    raged against unjust barriers
    to find
    the black and strong had fallen
    divided
    deceived
    overcome.”
  20. atone
    make amends for
    “Hear the reverberation
    of a stolen black nation
    forever lost
    to foreign shores
    where thieves do not atone
    and Mother Africa cannot be consoled.”
  21. console
    give moral or emotional strength to
    “Hear the reverberation
    of a stolen black nation
    forever lost
    to foreign shores
    where thieves do not atone
    and Mother Africa cannot be consoled.”
  22. adjusted
    altered to accommodate to certain requirements
    She said something to Sister Pat, who nodded and adjusted the microphone down to Fern’s mouth.
  23. racist
    discriminatory on the basis of skin color
    If he hadn’t gone on and on about “racist pigs,” Fern would have never asked herself, “What’s wrong with this picture?”
  24. clever
    showing inventiveness and skill
    They fussed over Fern, telling her how brave and clever she was.
  25. demonstrate
    give an exhibition of to an interested audience
    She demonstrated with a karate chop to a pile of air boards.
  26. tease
    mock or make fun of playfully
    I couldn’t tell if Eunice was teasing him or mad at him.
  27. deny
    declare untrue; contradict
    I didn’t want to deny it in case he liked me too, but I wasn’t about to be the one to say it in words.
  28. disappear
    become invisible or unnoticeable
    I had nowhere to go, but I wanted to disappear.
  29. stroke
    touch lightly and repeatedly, as with brushing motions
    You stroked my hair like I was a doll, but you didn’t have any dolls.
  30. erupt
    intensify suddenly
    Still, Vonetta and my constant smirks erupted into snickers.
  31. stride
    a step in walking or running
    To cut through the terminal in man-sized strides as soon as we got up and stood on line.
  32. crumple
    become wrinkled or creased
    Fern balled both hands, banging her fists at her sides, her ticket now completely crumpled.
  33. hesitate
    pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
    Vonetta and I didn’t hesitate.
Created on Sat Mar 09 13:40:19 EST 2013 (updated Thu Feb 28 09:04:05 EST 2019)

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