The House That Lou Built: Chapters 9–13

by Mae Respicio
Living in her grandmother's cramped home, thirteen-year-old Lou longs for a private space. But her plans to build a tiny house of her own are jeopardized when she must fight to save the land she inherited from her father.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–8, Chapters 9–13, Chapters 14–19, Chapters 20–26
35 words 6 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. kiosk
    small area set off by walls for special use
    A kiosk poster catches my attention: Go Tiny, Live Large.
    Under the slogan is a picture of a tiny house with a bright red door.
  2. guru
    a recognized leader in some field or of some movement
    I could use an in-person guru to help, instead of me pausing and rewinding how-to videos every few seconds to follow along.
  3. mahogany
    a reddish-brown wood commonly used to make furniture
    "This is luan, a type of mahogany from the Philippines. It’s what the original houses were made from.”
  4. cease
    put an end to a state or an activity
    “Isn’t it mind-blowing, the engineering behind something as grand as this entryway? It never ceases to amaze me, but particularly on beautiful days like this,” Mr. Keller says.
  5. vivid
    evoking lifelike images within the mind
    “Mr. K, remember how I told you I’m building my tiny house?”
    “Yes, vividly.”
  6. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    We veer off the bridge, through the tolls, and into areas of steep streets and skinny houses smushed up so close against each other that no light can squeeze through the cracks.
  7. flair
    a natural talent
    “She's very capable, Minda. That takes planning, math skills, artistic flair....This would be a terrific project for her.”
  8. shingle
    building material used as siding or roofing
    It has a slanted roof covered in rounded shingles like fish scales, and a swirly gingerbread trim.
  9. graze
    scrape gently
    She squishes in and sits down, the clothes above grazing her head.
  10. amateur
    lacking professional skill or expertise
    I fan through pages of kids holding up hammers and amateur birdhouses, or shovels and dirty carrots they just dug up.
  11. labor
    an organized attempt by workers to improve their status
    But normally we do “Filipino stuff,” like learning to cook new dishes or hearing about history, which means Lola makes her friends tell us stories about being in the Bataan Death March, or fighting for farmworkers with Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz—they were Filipino American labor leaders.
  12. woo
    seek someone's favor
    “He wooed me with a kundiman, a love song. It was the middle of the night, and he and his compadres stood outside my window strumming their guitars. But your lolo’s voice was so dreadful, like a squawking chicken, that all the roosters crowed and woke everyone in our village, so my father chased them away with his best machete!”
  13. machete
    a large knife used as a weapon or for cutting vegetation
    “He wooed me with a kundiman, a love song. It was the middle of the night, and he and his compadres stood outside my window strumming their guitars. But your lolo’s voice was so dreadful, like a squawking chicken, that all the roosters crowed and woke everyone in our village, so my father chased them away with his best machete!”
  14. hysterical
    marked by excessive or uncontrollable emotion
    She slaps her thigh and laughs hysterically.
  15. mural
    a painting that is applied to a wall surface
    Gracie and Alexa are painting an old jeep with a mural of handprints and faces and rainbow swirls, while Annie attaches all the stuff we found at her salvage yard.
  16. salvage
    collect discarded or refused material
    Gracie and Alexa are painting an old jeep with a mural of handprints and faces and rainbow swirls, while Annie attaches all the stuff we found at her salvage yard.
  17. vibrant
    (of colors) bright and striking
    The jeepney’s draped with strings of bright triangle flags, the American flag, and the Philippine flag with its vibrant yellow sun.
  18. concoction
    any foodstuff made by combining different ingredients
    The jeepney will circle the neighborhood while selling halo-halo, a sweet concoction of ice, milk, red beans, tapioca pearls, jackfruit, and coconut flesh—with even sweeter condensed milk drizzled on to stir in.
  19. alibi
    a defense of some offensive behavior
    “Since my mom’s letting me spend tonight at your house, it’s the perfect alibi—we'll go to my land in the morning."
  20. pastel
    any of various pale or light colors
    Alexa sleeps in a four-poster bed topped with a pastel pink canopy and ruffly white edges.
  21. ingenious
    showing inventiveness and skill
    “You know why I like you, Lucinda Bulosan-Nelson? Because you have bizarre ideas that are actually sort of, kind of...ingenious! DIY is huge now.”
  22. vigorously
    in an energetic manner
    Alexa nods vigorously.
  23. mogul
    a very wealthy or powerful businessperson
    We talk into the night—about finally being the oldest in school, or what it might feel like to kiss a boy who likes you back, or our futures: mine as a famous San Francisco architect, and hers as a songwriter/fashion mogul/pastry chef living in a New York loft above a cupcake store with a boyfriend who rides a moped.
  24. submission
    something put forward for the judgment of others
    “Not me, exactly, but the work on my tiny house. We’re building tomorrow. Maybe you can use the footage for your submission...if you wanted. A killing-two-birds-with-one-stone sort of thing.”
  25. slew
    a large number or amount or extent
    Manang Maribel pulls up in the Filipino-Mobile, a minivan with a slew of metallic Manila stickers Uncle Jon-Jon slapped across the bumper.
  26. cringe
    draw back, as with fear, pain, or embarrassment
    As little kids we used to love riding around in it, but now it makes us cringe.
  27. gratitude
    a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation
    “Remind me again what I get out of all this,” Maribel says.
    “Our forever gratitude?” Gracie responds.
  28. adoration
    the act of admiring strongly
    "And?” Maribel adds.
    “Uhhh...our blind adoration of you for life?” Alexa says.
  29. reception
    quality or fidelity of a broadcast
    Alexa’s trying to send a text (she hasn’t found out yet that the reception’s spotty).
  30. trudge
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    Jack and Arwin trudge up, barefoot, jeans rolled to their knees.
  31. morph
    change shape or undergo a transformation
    I try to morph into Mr. Keller when he’s ordering everyone around in class.
  32. megaphone
    a cone-shaped acoustic device to amplify the human voice
    “Gather round the trailer bed, folks!” I shout.
    Nobody comes. I need a megaphone.
  33. muffled
    being or made softer or less loud or clear
    She raises her hands and in a muffled voice says, “Full speed ahead.”
  34. skeptical
    marked by or given to doubt
    Arwin eyes it skeptically. “What’s that supposed to be?”
  35. wade
    walk through relatively shallow water
    We all do the same and wade in, ankle deep. Underneath, the pebbles feel smooth and bumpy at once.
Created on Wed Mar 13 21:38:54 EDT 2019 (updated Wed Mar 20 11:08:06 EDT 2019)

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