A Place to Belong: Chapters 1–8

by Cynthia Kadohata
Like many Japanese-Americans, Hanako and her family are imprisoned in an American internment camp during World War II. After the war ends, they emigrate to Japan — but they struggle to make a home in a country that is unfamiliar to them.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–18, Chapters 19–29, Chapters 30–41
15 words 504 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. reprimand
    censure severely or angrily
    But, still, he insisted Hanako and Akira call him “Mr.” She’d called him “Taylor” once, and Papa had reprimanded her for being rude.
  2. partition
    a vertical structure that divides or separates
    Nobody was shy, because in the camps there had been showers and latrines with no partitions between them. So none of them had had privacy for years.
  3. feral
    wild and menacing
    Besides getting stronger, Papa had changed in another way. He looked older now, and kind of feral. Before, he had always seemed civilized, even sophisticated.
  4. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    Hanako tentatively stood up and still felt fine.
  5. protrude
    bulge outward
    She’d hardly eaten. She held out her arms in front of her—the bones in her wrists protruded.
  6. disembark
    exit from a ship, vehicle, or aircraft
    Then suddenly came the announcement: “Japanese repatriates will begin disembarking beginning with R through V.”
  7. civil right
    right belonging to a person by reason of citizenship
    The ACLU was a bunch of lawyers who’d formed an organization to defend people’s civil rights and stand up for the Constitution. Supposedly, they had a lot of integrity.
  8. integrity
    moral soundness
    The ACLU was a bunch of lawyers who’d formed an organization to defend people’s civil rights and stand up for the Constitution. Supposedly, they had a lot of integrity.
  9. subside
    wear off or die down
    She felt that anger that made her face hot and made her squeeze her hands into fists. She had no future! All she had was her trust in her parents. Then her anger started to subside.
  10. makeshift
    done or made using whatever is available
    In the truck, on the way to the train station, she saw a few makeshift homes built out of what looked like scraps—even worse scraps than the barracks were made out of.
  11. sheepishly
    in a manner showing embarrassment or shame
    Hanako sat back and looked sheepishly out the window.
  12. compensation
    something given or received as payment or reparation
    As a result, workers went on strike. They demanded improved safety and working conditions and compensation for anyone injured on the job.
  13. flunky
    an underling of unquestioning obedience
    In general, Papa said, the people running the camps were “low-level flunkies,” so everybody was curious about Mr. Myer.
  14. grievance
    a complaint about a wrong that causes resentment
    A negotiating committee met with him and Mr. Best to discuss camp grievances.
  15. contraband
    goods whose trade or possession is prohibited by law
    Once, the military invaded her barrack without knocking, shouting and demanding to know if they were hiding “contraband.”
Created on Wed Oct 02 14:28:40 EDT 2019 (updated Fri Jul 18 12:49:41 EDT 2025)

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