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Jazmin's Notebook: Chapters 9–12

In this award-winning novel, a teen documents her life in 1960's Harlem.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–12, Chapters 13–16, Chapters 17–21, Chapters 22–24
30 words 26 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. slog
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    Once, in Central Park
    I slogged through
    early morning mist
    and grabbed a fistful
    felt it lick
    my fingers
    then slip away
  2. gossamer
    filaments from a web that was spun by a spider
    It seems to me that ideas are like gossamer, or mist, fragile as a dream forgotten as soon as you awake, I guess that’s why they’re so hard to hold on to.
  3. dispel
    force to go away
    Judging by the fear in their white faces, the fact that I was, at that moment, a frantic, wild-eyed, Black teenager probably had something to do with it. But who had time to dispel racial stereotypes?
  4. stereotype
    a conventional or formulaic conception or image
    Judging by the fear in their white faces, the fact that I was, at that moment, a frantic, wild-eyed, Black teenager probably had something to do with it. But who had time to dispel racial stereotypes?
  5. drab
    lacking brightness or color; dull
    I must’ve been quite a sight, though, staggering through the park in drab T-shirt and holey bell-bottoms...
  6. unsullied
    free from blemishes
    Finally I found a crumpled, but otherwise unsullied, Hershey’s candy bar wrapper, and whispered, Thank God!
  7. lurch
    move haltingly and unsteadily
    It could have slipped from my pocket on the subway seat while the AA local lurched its way uptown.
  8. verse
    literature in metrical form
    One way or another, I lost the poem by the time I got home that day, and I can’t, for the life of me, recall a single verse. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
  9. zilch
    a quantity of no importance
    One way or another, I lost the poem by the time I got home that day, and I can’t, for the life of me, recall a single verse. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
  10. inspiration
    arousal of the mind to unusual activity or creativity
    I remember the excitement of molding that inspiration, and shaping it on the page, like clay.
  11. linger
    remain present although waning or gradually dying
    And I remember feeling powerful and powerless, all at once, and how the pleasure of that moment lingered for a long, long time.
  12. ricochet
    a glancing rebound
    Nightly bullet ricochets remind me that Death plays hide-and-seek round here.
  13. vestibule
    a large entrance or reception room or area
    A month ago, for instance, I was minding my own business, checking the mailbox in the vestibule, when a fight broke out in the street.
  14. ebony
    of a very dark black
    He was a startling combination of dark and light, ebony skin and slate-gray eyes that had my heart singing “Ooo Baby Baby.”
  15. ante
    place one's stake
    A sprinkle of laughter, the tap and shuffle of a crisp, freshly cut deck, the ching of coins piling up at the center of the table as players ante up, the tinkling of ice cubes melting in glasses of scotch and water, and Clyde, crude as ever, belching up beer.
  16. crude
    conspicuously and tastelessly indecent
    A sprinkle of laughter, the tap and shuffle of a crisp, freshly cut deck, the ching of coins piling up at the center of the table as players ante up, the tinkling of ice cubes melting in glasses of scotch and water, and Clyde, crude as ever, belching up beer.
  17. dollop
    a soft lump or portion of something, especially food
    Crew ordered a plate of fried chicken. He’s okay by me, so I gave him three extra wings, and a second dollop of potato salad.
  18. abide
    put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    I swallowed hard and prayed in earnest then because, number one, CeCe cannot abide firearms and, number two, she doesn’t own any.
  19. bluff
    deceive an opponent by a bold bet on an inferior hand
    T.C. studied my sister’s face, decided she was not joking, and slowly put his piece away. All of a sudden it hit me why she’s so good at poker. She knows how to bluff.
  20. secondhand
    previously used or owned by another
    It’s the first day of school, and once again I’m the secondhand queen.
  21. pedigree
    the ancestry or lineage of an individual
    So, thanks to her, I fully understand the pedigree of my recycled skirts and jackets.
  22. eon
    an interminable period of time
    I turned my back to the security camera, neatly folded the silky soft, double-knit mini into my oversized canvas shoulder bag. Then I stood at the dressing room door for about an eon or two, waiting for the good sense God gave me to return.
  23. stimulate
    act to arouse action
    Images of stimulating talks at the college snack bar, discussing politics and God and the state of the state, flash before my eyes.
  24. articulate
    express or state clearly
    I see myself dazzling university professors with my perfectly articulated Black brilliance.
  25. delusional
    suffering from or characterized by erroneous beliefs
    I’m an A-student, so it’s not as if I were completely delusional.
  26. bias
    a partiality preventing objective consideration of an issue
    And then it hits me: All this could be blasted away by the strategically placed bias of one Miss Lillian Wise, who stares at me and casually asks, “What seems to be the problem?”
  27. intention
    a wish or design that you plan to carry out
    “Miss Wise," I said, my voice a whisper, “I'd appreciate it if you’d revise my course schedule immediately, as I have every intention of going to college.”
  28. huffy
    quick to take offense
    “Well," she said, huffiness personified, “I was simply trying to help."
  29. personify
    attribute human qualities to something
    “Well," she said, huffiness personified, “I was simply trying to help."
  30. outrage
    a feeling of righteous anger
    I could’ve told CeCe what happened when I got home that day, but I decided the apartment was too tiny to contain both my outrage and hers.
Created on Tue Nov 24 21:10:28 EST 2020 (updated Tue Dec 08 09:00:23 EST 2020)

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