Starfish: Chapters 27–42

by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Kiko is devastated when she is not accepted to art school. Longing for an escape from her stifling community and self-absorbed mother, she accepts an unexpected invitation to travel to California with an old friend.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–10, Chapters 11–26, Chapters 27–42, Chapter 43–Epilogue
35 words 10 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. cyborg
    a person whose body is partially mechanical
    When she tries to come across normal like this, it’s so weird. And I know weird—I’m probably the very definition of weird—but when people come to the house, it’s like she turns into some suburban housewife cyborg.
  2. scoff
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    I don’t realize I’m shaking my head until she scoffs.
  3. convulse
    shake uncontrollably
    I stand up, my whole body convulsing with anger.
  4. malice
    the desire to see others suffer
    It’s a taunt loaded with malice.
  5. indifferent
    marked by a lack of interest
    I don’t mean it to sound indifferent, but it does. I don’t know how to use the right emotions when I speak—I'm just not good at speaking, period.
  6. earthy
    hearty and lusty
    “Gosh, you've sure grown up,” Brandon says with an earthy chuckle.
  7. oddity
    something unusual, maybe worthy of collecting
    I look through one of the windows from the hallway and see five students surrounding a table full of objects—a jar of marbles, a horse-shaped piñata, a mannequin head with a neon-blue wig, and lots of other oddities.
  8. barren
    completely wanting or lacking
    Some of the rooms are barren except for the drawings and corkboards all over the walls.
  9. element
    the most favorable environment for a plant or animal
    I don't have the courage to step outside of my own element. And my element, quite obviously, is being alone and invisible.
  10. hyperventilate
    breathe excessively hard and fast
    I tell myself I need to thank him, when I’m not busy drooling into the windows and hyperventilating over the oil paintings and watercolors and canvases as big as my garage door.
  11. truffle
    a highly prized edible subterranean fungus
    “I know how to clean. I don’t know how to make butternut squash risotto with truffle sauce and fried gouda cheese.”
  12. heresy
    a belief that rejects the orthodox tenets of a religion
    He raises his brow and pulls his hands to his chest. “That's a good point. I thought you were going to say medieval times or something because you like all those fantasy games, but you're right—they would've arrested you for heresy or something.”
  13. voluptuous
    (of a woman's body) having a large bosom and pleasing curves
    Inside the carriage is a voluptuous woman spilling over the edges with her hands up in the air like she's on a roller coaster.
  14. surrealism
    an artistic movement using fantastic and incongruous images
    “What are you supposed to call this kind of art?” Jamie looks genuinely curious, even if he does think the paintings are silly.
    “Pop surrealism is what the art people keep calling it.”
  15. fleck
    a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
    His hands are covered in flecks of brown and red paint, and he's wearing a gray T-shirt with a Coca-Cola image on it and black pants.
  16. frothy
    emitting or filled with bubbles
    He chuckles like he's made of the frothy sea.
  17. elaborate
    add details to clarify an idea
    I could have just said I was busy. I didn't have to elaborate.
  18. insinuate
    suggest in an indirect or covert way; give to understand
    “I can't believe you’re going to insinuate Hiroshi is some kind of child predator..."
  19. resent
    feel bitter or indignant about
    “I feel like you resent me because of your dad, and I’m the one who stayed to take care of you guys.”
  20. raspy
    unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound
    My voice is all high-pitched and raspy and far, far away.
  21. palette
    a board on which an artist mixes paints
    With a palette balanced in my left hand, I press the tip of my brush into the gray splotch of acrylic paint.
  22. acute
    extremely sharp or intense
    We watch a movie about superheroes, which is normally exactly the kind of movie that Jamie and I would gush over for hours together. But I’m acutely aware that I’m the only one gushing.
  23. honorary
    given as an award without the normal duties
    “Seriously? Jamie, what’s wrong? And don’t tell me it’s nothing—I have an honorary degree in trying to keep my feelings a secret.”
  24. furrow
    make or become wrinkled or creased
    His brow furrows. “No, that’s such crap. 'Make it work.’ What does that even mean? They’re not actually trying to make anything work; they’re just staying in the same house together making each other more and more miserable. Making me miserable.”
  25. disarming
    capable of allaying hostility
    My brain feels frantic, but there's nothing clever or humorous or even disarming that I can think of to say.
  26. palatable
    acceptable to the taste or mind
    “So beauty to you is what’s palatable to everyone else? You’re drawing what you think everyone wants to see?” he asks gently.
  27. nonchalant
    marked by casual unconcern or indifference
    “Have you heard anything back from the school?'' Mom asks. She's trying to sound nonchalant, but I can tell she wants to know the answer.
  28. delicate
    exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing
    I don’t have her long legs and her delicate nose.
  29. fixture
    an object firmly secured in place, especially in a household
    The floors are dark wood, and all of the fixtures seem to be the same brushed metal.
  30. abstract
    not representing or imitating external reality
    To my surprise, none of the artwork around the house is Hiroshi’s. They are all abstract and blend perfectly with the color theme of each room.
  31. specifically
    in distinction from others
    We eat vegetable ramen for dinner, which Hiroshi made specifically because of me.
  32. crevasse
    a deep fissure
    I feel it on my skin—my face feels tighter, as if all the salt has found its way to every crevasse and pore.
  33. hypnotic
    attracting and holding interest as if by a spell
    The ocean sends another wave toward the sand before pulling it back again. Over and over again it does this. It’s hypnotic.
  34. validate
    show or confirm the effectiveness or worthiness of something
    But some people are just starfish—they need everyone to fill the roles that they assign. They need the world to sit around them, pointing at them and validating their feelings.
  35. narcissism
    an exceptional interest in and admiration for yourself
    “Don’t live to please the starfish, especially when their happiness is at the expense of yours. That is not love. That is narcissism. There’s an entire ocean out there, Kiko—swim in it.”
Created on Fri Sep 13 09:15:50 EDT 2019 (updated Thu Sep 19 13:49:01 EDT 2019)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.