The Benefits of Being an Octopus: Chapters 21–28

by Ann Braden
At school, Zoey hopes no one will notice her. After school, she takes care of her younger siblings while her mom struggles to make ends meet. But when her social studies teacher asks Zoey to join the debate club, Zoey might finally learn to speak up for herself and her family.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–13, Chapters 14–20, Chapters 21–28
30 words 358 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. emblazon
    decorate, adorn, or inscribe with a design
    Matt takes off like he’s got a cape flying behind him and a giant S for Seventh Grade Student Council President emblazoned on his shirt.
  2. swoon
    pass out from weakness or physical or emotional distress
    The rest of the kids practically swoon back into their chairs. “At least Matt’s going to take care of it.”
  3. aloft
    high up in or into the air
    A few minutes later Matt proudly comes back into the room holding aloft the envelope. “Ms. Holmes is even out sick today, but the sub and I managed to find this on her desk!”
  4. righteous
    morally justified
    Because that’s the difference, isn’t it? For them it’s like an easy life is automatic, and when it’s not, they’re all ready to pour on righteous anger and think they can do something about it.
  5. purposeful
    having meaning through having an aim
    Social studies is my last class of the day, and I purposefully slip into my seat right before it starts when Ms. Rochambeau is busy answering questions from that girl who keeps getting 97s on things and wants to get 100s.
  6. matted
    tangled in a dense mass
    The hair around her face is matted with tears, and I use my finger to gently comb some of it back behind her ear.
  7. exclusively
    without any others being included or involved
    “Guns are used exclusively for killing,” Matt is saying, “and why should we trust people with that ability when clearly the statistics show that people cannot be trusted?”
  8. maintenance
    activity involved in keeping something in good working order
    Lenny stands up to announce he’s leaving to go fill out an application for a maintenance late shift at the hospital.
  9. gauge
    an instrument for measuring and indicating a quantity
    She shakes her head. “I should have been paying attention to the gas gauge. I was so focused on getting that ground beef. I thought that it was going to fix things, but I just screwed things up more.”
  10. rebuttal
    the speech act of refuting by offering a contrary argument
    This is where I need to come up with my rebuttal, but not by discrediting my opponent.
  11. tousle
    disarrange or rumple; dishevel
    Lenny even takes the meatloaf out of the oven for my mom and tousles Bryce’s hair when Bryce shows up to get his plate of meatloaf.
  12. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    I hate the way my mom drives these days. Every time she steps on the accelerator it’s so tentative. It’s like she’s scared she’s going to use too much of Lenny’s gas.
  13. domestic
    of or involving the home or family
    “I got it from a poster at Family Services.” She pauses. “It’s a domestic violence hotline number.”
  14. rickety
    inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
    The door to the building with Fuchsia’s apartment is only partway closed, and I push through it and head up the rickety stairs.
  15. slat
    a thin strip of wood or metal
    She peers out the window through the slats in the broken blinds.
  16. stoop
    carry oneself with head and shoulders bent forward
    The neighbor lady is a bit old and stooped and has a small parrot hopping around on her shoulder with about another two dozen birds in cages behind her squawking up a storm, probably all arguing that they should get shoulder privileges, too.
  17. racket
    a loud and disturbing noise
    “Just keep it short,” she says over the racket of cheeps when I ask her if I can use her phone.
  18. funky
    having an offensive or unpleasant smell
    The smell that hit me when she first opened the door into the apartment only gets stronger in the next room. I can’t really place it. It’s like damp newspapers but more funky. I’m pretty sure it’s the smell of Too Much Bird.
  19. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    “There’s no way,” she scoffs. “Rent for one hundred sixty-seven dollars? Have you lost your mind?”
  20. beeline
    the most direct route
    She makes a beeline for the windowsill with Bryce right behind her, and soon you can’t even see Jane Kitty because of all the pets and kisses being heaped onto her.
  21. smother
    envelop completely
    I cross the room to where Fuchsia is watching her kitten get smothered in love.
  22. spastic
    affected by involuntary jerky muscular contractions
    The magic of Jane Kitty means that they don’t care where they are, as long as they get to keep petting her head and rolling balls of tin foil at her belly for her to fend off like a spastic ninja.
  23. hoarse
    deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness
    Crystal’s voice has gone hoarse. “You’re lying.”
  24. frantic
    excessively agitated; distraught with violent emotion
    The silence that follows is so complete that I can make out the frantic chirps from the birds in the apartment across the hall.
  25. extricate
    release from entanglement or difficulty
    But when I finally extricate myself from the back seat and stand up, I see it’s not my mom. It’s Lenny getting dropped off by Slider.
  26. linoleum
    a floor covering made from linseed oil, cork, and resin
    I look around to see Hector sitting happily on the linoleum floor, playing with some take-out containers.
  27. concentric
    having a common center
    I follow the concentric circles of the fake wood as they get bigger and bigger.
  28. willingness
    cheerful compliance
    “I’ll be handing out these debate tournament entry forms today after school, and I want you to seriously think about it. The fees will be covered. All you’d need to bring is yourself.” She raises her eyebrows and smiles at me. “And your willingness to speak up.”
  29. threadbare
    thin and tattered with age
    “Do you want to listen to a story?” I pull his threadbare pajama shirt over his head.
  30. loft
    floor consisting of open space at the top of a house
    The raft has a little spot where they can cook their food, stairs going up to a loft where they can sleep, and great views of the sunrise.
Created on Tue May 14 12:00:07 EDT 2019 (updated Tue May 14 12:29:29 EDT 2019)

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