Orphan Island: Chapters 6–12

by Laurel Snyder
A group of children live happily on an idyllic island — but once a year, a boat takes the oldest child away and brings a new child to the island. Jinny, now the eldest, must care for the new arrival while preparing for the day when she must leave.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–12, Chapters 13–18, Chapters 19–25
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    “Well, of course you can,” scoffed Jinny. “Anyone can.”
  2. wistfully
    in a pensively sad manner
    “I wish our trees would talk to me,” he said wistfully.
  3. promptly
    with little or no delay
    “I do! I hep!” she said eagerly, reaching for the covers, which she promptly dragged straight down onto the floor.
  4. ungainly
    lacking grace in movement or posture
    Jinny was surprised to see that Ess was able to keep up with Joon’s pace, scurrying along beside her, stumbling in her ungainly way, where Joon took long, even strides.
  5. roost
    sit, rest, or settle, as on a branch or perch
    Sometimes she even spent nights away from her cabin, roosting with the chickens in the trees, or camping out on the prairie.
  6. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    The low trees were just right for Ess’s short arms to climb, and now and then she’d chase after one of the wild cats that crept over from the high grass of the prairie to watch them warily.
  7. blustery
    blowing in violent and abrupt bursts
    The wind rushed all around the cliffs there, creating a roaring, blustery sound that kept most birds and animals away.
  8. terse
    brief and to the point
    “I know she can,” said Joon tersely.
  9. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    She watched as Ess proceeded to toss her little body off the cliffs and into the wind, watched the girl sprawl on the rock when the gusts brought her gently back down.
  10. skedaddle
    run away, as if in a panic
    “We need to skedaddle. But don’t worry, Ess. This is good too. Come on!”
  11. frenzy
    state of violent mental agitation
    Even as the four of them stepped into the high green and gold grasses, a small orange kitten was worrying a big old hen into a frenzy near a rotting stump.
  12. bramble
    any of various rough thorny shrubs or vines
    Or how to pick swinks, the green berries the kids ate every day, from the brambly bushes up above the cabins on the ridge, without getting pricked.
  13. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    Each day after lunch, Jinny waded into the cove with her Care, their tunics billowing in the water, the big pockets inflating like balloons.
  14. earnest
    characterized by a firm, sincere belief in one's opinions
    “Otay. I do it.” Ess nodded, looking very earnest.
  15. amiably
    in a friendly manner
    “Otay,” said Ess amiably, brushing sand from her knees and following Jinny down the beach and off to the tide pools.
  16. barnacle
    marine crustacean with feathery food-catching appendages
    Jinny showed the girl how to be careful not to cut her feet on the rough patches of coral and the barnacles, and she pointed out that the purple jellyblobs would sting if you let them brush against your legs when they floated by.
  17. shrill
    having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
    But the moment Jinny turned her back to pluck at a fresh batch of shells, Ess let out a shrill, earsplitting scream.
  18. churning
    moving with or producing or produced by vigorous agitation
    She dashed forward, her heart racing, and hurled herself past Joon and straight into the sea, aiming for the churning arms and wet bobbing head of Ess, for the spot where the little girl was struggling to keep her head above the water.
  19. conjure
    summon into action or bring into existence
    But Jinny could conjure no memories of that lesson.
  20. kelp
    large brown seaweeds having fluted leathery fronds
    “I know,” said Jinny, untangling a long strand of dark kelp from the net in her hand.
  21. bedraggled
    limp, untidy, and soiled
    Ess looked pale and bedraggled, her wet hair like seaweed all around her face.
  22. bristle
    react in an offended or angry manner
    Inside, Jinny bristled faintly, but it wasn’t the same as talking about this with Joon.
  23. glint
    be shiny, as if wet
    It looked like the boys were teaching Ess how to scale a fish, with a knife that glinted in the sun.
  24. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    “Like dis?” Ess asked, jabbing the knife hard into the fish’s taut belly with her tiny hand.
  25. admonition
    a firm rebuke
    Jinny thought briefly of Joon’s swimming lesson, and of Ben’s soft admonition.
  26. innards
    the organs in a body, collectively
    There was a tiny gasp as Ess dropped her wet handful of innards on her foot.
  27. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    She took the small slimy hand gingerly and led Ess away, glaring over her shoulder at the two boys.
  28. sift
    move as if through a sieve
    Jinny rinsed her own fingers clean, letting a handful of wet sand and tiny shell bits sift through them briefly.
  29. technically
    according to the exact meaning; according to the facts
    She hadn’t technically lied to the girl, but she’d certainly been avoiding this conversation.
  30. spangle
    decorate with shiny adornments
    “I know,” she said even more softly, looking down at the thick cuff on her arm, her shoestring bracelet, which was now spangled with bits of shell and tiny feathers.
  31. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    Sam wasn’t even pretending to do anything but listen and watch intently.
  32. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    She pointed down the beach, to where Nat and Eevie were watching them with armloads of driftwood and solemn eyes. “How about a smile? Let them know you’re okay? What do you say to that?”
  33. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    Jinny turned to look at the girl’s sharp, smug face.
  34. notch
    a small cut
    Jinny wasn’t certain what made her start counting her sleeps. She only knew that some deep urge made her take up her knife one morning and carve a small notch into the doorpost of her sleeping cabin.
  35. groove
    a long narrow furrow cut by a natural process or a tool
    She liked to run her fingertips along the grooves as she came and went through the door.
  36. groggy
    stunned or confused and slow to react
    The girl sat up groggily and rubbed her face with the back of a hand.
  37. flustered
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    Jinny stopped for a moment, stared at that line, considered it. Then, flustered, she flipped a few pages, stopping when she saw more pencil marks.
  38. morbid
    suggesting the horror of death and decay
    “...I wonder if Abigail is dying like her books.”
    “Ugh, what a morbid thing to say,” said Nat.
  39. abalone
    a large edible marine gastropod with an ear-shaped shell
    “Okay, so...here we go. A is for abalone,” said Jinny.
  40. snippet
    a small piece of anything
    She was so grateful to Abigail for this snippet.
Created on Sun Aug 19 16:18:28 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Aug 21 09:00:18 EDT 2018)

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