Hunting by Stars: Chapter 30–Epilogue/Prologue

by Cherie Dimaline
After a plague of dreamlessness spreads across North America, seventeen-year-old Frenchie is captured so the Canadian government can harvest his bone marrow as a cure. Frenchie must find a way to escape and reunite with his found family.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–17, Chapters 18–22, Chapters 23–29, Chapter 30–Epilogue/Prologue

Click here to explore our lists for The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. pallet
    a portable platform for storing or moving goods
    She even built a small fort back there out of old wood pallets steadied against the gnarled trunk of an apple tree.
  2. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    She even built a small fort back there out of old wood pallets steadied against the gnarled trunk of an apple tree.
  3. imminent
    close in time; about to occur
    “Rose, they had to leave. We got word that Wab was in imminent danger, so they—”
  4. buoyant
    characterized by liveliness and lightheartedness
    Everyone was buoyant—everyone except Miig and me.
  5. jurisdiction
    the territory within which power can be exercised
    I wouldn’t relax until we were over the border and under new jurisdiction.
  6. profound
    far-reaching and thoroughgoing in effect
    But it didn’t take depth to build cruelty, only a profound lack of hope.
  7. intoxicating
    extremely exciting
    Lying still, I listened to the grind and squeal of the metal against wood with an intoxicating mix of fear and relief.
  8. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
    I could spot his ruse clear as day—the sock was clean, no holes. The school officials really should’ve taken those details into consideration. A traveler with clean socks was unheard of.
  9. trundle
    move along on or as if on wheels or a wheeled vehicle
    I used all these minutes to imagine what Rose was doing right now as we trundled over the land along unending tracks in boxes stacked under more boxes.
  10. viable
    capable of being done with means at hand
    There’s a viable cure right there in our faces, and we’re just going to ignore it and keep lining up at the dispensary for her ridiculous potions?
  11. dispensary
    clinic where medicine and medical supplies are distributed
    There’s a viable cure right there in our faces, and we’re just going to ignore it and keep lining up at the dispensary for her ridiculous potions?
  12. innovation
    the creation of something in the mind
    Do you really want your child growing up in a world without art? Without literature? Without innovation? Because that’s where we’re headed. People can’t dream anything but these manufactured dreams, and the whole progress bus takes a detour to Broken Town.
  13. settee
    a small sofa
    She had been sitting on the settee by the window, where the best light poured in this time of day.
  14. emboss
    raise in a relief
    Adelaide hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but there it was, hanging in the room, floating above their heads inside the embossed wallpapered walls.
  15. cajole
    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
    The route is not often used, and I had Frank take care of the stationmaster already. Turned out he hadn’t been paid in over a month so it didn’t take too much cajoling.
  16. senility
    mental infirmity as a consequence of old age
    Frank was getting odd lately, and she was worried about the possible side effects of the dream meds. It was either that or senility.
  17. chignon
    a roll of hair worn at the nape of the neck
    She patted her lacquered chignon.
  18. overture
    orchestral music at the beginning of an opera or musical
    She raised her hands like a conductor in front of an orchestra, and the group responded like a well-timed overture.
  19. mince
    make less severe or harsh
    She didn’t mince words. She never did. Mincing was for President Purdue and that wimp Veronica. They could mince all they wanted. Adelaide was ready to take what was hers.
  20. dispensation
    an exemption from some rule or obligation
    No, they were offering special dispensation for an informant to relocate to Canada with their immediate family.
  21. crass
    so unrefined as to be offensive or insensitive
    “So much meat!"
    “Shirley-Rachel, don’t be crass,” the woman replied, her shiny bob (no grey here) bouncing at her shoulders.
  22. hokey
    obviously artificial or phony
    “Well, you’ll just have to take my word for it. But you know old Indians can’t lie,” Miig replied, clearly betting on the fact that mainstreamers were vastly undereducated about Native people, that they relied on hokey stereotypes and romantic tropes.
  23. trope
    a common or clichéd plot device, idea, or theme in a creative work
    “Well, you’ll just have to take my word for it. But you know old Indians can’t lie,” Miig replied, clearly betting on the fact that mainstreamers were vastly undereducated about Native people, that they relied on hokey stereotypes and romantic tropes.
  24. wherewithal
    the necessary means (especially financial means)
    The group had been detained by some gang of roving women, one without the wherewithal to know what the hell they were dealing with.
  25. apt
    at risk of or subject to experiencing something
    She had reached out to the people holding her property—better to negotiate a peaceful return herself than risk any involvement with the U.S. government. They were apt to offer the runaways political asylum, and then none of them would end up getting what they wanted.
  26. loll
    hang loosely or laxly
    Her head lolled to the side and rested on her shoulder.
  27. permutation
    a change in the order or arrangement of objects in a group
    We’d been through sixty-two permutations of the combo by then.
  28. chastise
    scold or criticize severely
    “Dammit, Miig, you popped a stitch,” Rania chastised him, opening the cookie tin sewing kit to repair her work.
  29. fray
    wear away by rubbing
    Rania opened the blades and used them like a saw, furiously running them up and down her ropes. After a minute, the rope began to fray.
  30. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    “Wab, we got this, you hear me?” I shouted over the din of everyone talking and shouting encouragement at once.
  31. brandish
    exhibit aggressively
    I unlocked Miig first, and he moved like a man without a wound, tackling an older woman in an oversize cat sweater who was brandishing a knife.
  32. autonomy
    personal independence
    “I would have so much taken from me—my name, my identity, my autonomy—before they even exposed the first bone.”
  33. jaunty
    marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
    The truck screeched to a stop, turning at the last minute so the lights illuminated the side of the house, its neat trim and clean windows with jaunty drapes way creepier than any abandoned building I’d seen.
  34. gait
    the rate of moving, especially walking or running
    He slowed down to match my gait.
  35. lattice
    framework consisting of an ornamental wood or metal design
    I felt that knowledge in my spine, the understanding of it mapping out the contours of the very lattice that let me walk straight.
  36. riotous
    produced or growing in extreme abundance
    She stood and walked into the thick of the field, so riotous she could hear it working pulpy braids into the abandoned agriculture.
  37. fester
    gnaw into; make resentful or angry
    What she could do was fight, so she did that instead. Punching second cousins when they teased her for her curly hair. Putting townies in headlocks when they called her names she didn’t understand but knew were poison by the way they festered under her dark skin.
  38. regalia
    especially fine or decorative clothing
    Rose wanted to be a Jingle Dress dancer, but she never asked for regalia. By the time she was five, those dresses existed only in stories.
  39. plume
    the feather of a bird
    Eagle plumes fastened to the backs of their heads, small purses with tobacco offered in return for prayers, hundreds of silver cones hanging from bias tape tabs around bright material, Jingle Dress dancers were the healers.
  40. powwow
    a council of or with Native Americans
    She had never been to a powwow, had never seen a real Jingle Dress, but she knew the pattern by heart.
Created on Tue Sep 20 16:12:56 EDT 2022 (updated Tue Oct 04 13:40:44 EDT 2022)

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