The Silence that Binds Us: Chapters 21–39

by Joanna Ho
Descended from Chinese immigrants who'd settled in California, high school junior Maybelline Chen struggles against both cultural and racist stereotypes, especially after her older brother commits suicide.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–20, Chapters 21–39, Chapters 40–60, Chapter 61–Epilogue
35 words 11 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. acute
    demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
    My acute awareness of his absence makes him present everywhere I turn.
  2. tirade
    a speech of violent denunciation
    Marc’s voice cools Tiya’s protective wrath just as she is about to launch into another tirade.
  3. taut
    subjected to great tension; stretched tight
    “She told me not to. She said she'd be right back,” says Tiya, her voice taut.
  4. venture
    an investment that is risky but could yield great profits
    A low whisper ripples through the room when Josh and his father, Nathaniel McIntyre, a big-shot venture capitalist, walk in.
  5. abstract
    not representing or imitating external reality
    I'm a bunch of mixed-up emotions thrown abstractly on canvas: a color block of embarrassment here, a stroke of gratitude there, a solid background of confusion behind everything else.
  6. doozy
    someone or something excellent of its kind
    We started holding the Junior Jam to help us get prepared for the coming year. It can be a real doozy. I don’t need to tell you that the pressure to succeed at Sequoia Park High is unparalleled.
  7. caricature
    a representation of a person exaggerated for comic effect
    Celeste flips back one page and there’s a funny caricature of a man snoring.
  8. facade
    a showy misrepresentation to conceal something unpleasant
    The fragile facade they've worked so hard to piece together has collapsed beneath the blame and accusations hurled their way.
  9. desecrate
    remove the sacredness from a person or an object
    That man doesn’t get to talk about my parents like that. He doesn’t get to desecrate Danny’s memory.
  10. wane
    become smaller
    I write and write and write until the crackling red flames wane into pulsing embers.
  11. chasm
    an unbridgeable gap, break, or disagreement
    Silence is the space
    between my mom and me—
    a chasm
    over which we throw words
    that make the distance
    wider.
  12. submissive
    inclined or willing to give in to orders or wishes of others
    If Hollywood made a movie about her life, she’d be some submissive, silent babe in a qipao, too weak to hold her own chopsticks.
  13. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    Somehow Nǎi-Nai turned their meager ingredients into dumplings and sold them on the streets.
  14. humble
    marked by meekness or modesty; not arrogant or prideful
    She made enough to buy new shoes and her own food cart. Eventually, she was able to open a small dumpling shop. She and Yé-Ye built a humble life in Chinatown with their two boys: my dad and my uncle Joe.
  15. burble
    flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise
    A small sulfur pond burbles in my stomach.
  16. ensuing
    following immediately and as a result of what went before
    The article outlines the purpose of the Junior Jam and its ensuing “discussion.”
  17. expendable
    suitable to be used up
    Some Asian boy.
    A wrapper
    tossed on the floor,
    a blemish
    on the sidewalk.
    Expendable.
  18. absolve
    excuse or free from blame
    As if rewriting
    my family’s story
    absolves you
    of responsibility
    in this narrative.
  19. wayward
    difficult to manage or keep in order
    “Or what, obviously,” I say huffily as I dismantle the knot, shake out my hair, hook the wayward strand with my pinkie, and twist the mass back into place.
  20. sacrilege
    blasphemous behavior
    In fact, getting into an Ivy or Stanford or Berkeley and choosing to go elsewhere feels like sacrilege around here.
  21. curt
    brief and to the point
    “And no, he didn't steal anything," adds Marc curtly.
  22. liberal
    having political views favoring reform and progress
    “That's what I said to Ayanna! It’s always the supposedly liberal places that are the most racist,” Tiya cuts in.
  23. eyelet
    small hole in cloth or leather for passage of a cord or hook
    She’s wearing a white Bohemian-style shirt with eyelets along its ruffled sleeves.
  24. commend
    express approval of
    Is she commending
 me for my courage?
  25. wistfully
    in a pensively sad manner
    A smile plays wistfully at the right corner of her mouth.
  26. congeal
    solidify, thicken, or come together
    All the food I’ve been stuffing into my mouth congeals into a heavy weight at the pit of my stomach.
  27. infuse
    let sit in a liquid to extract a flavor or to cleanse
    My mom adds vegetables into the pot, and the cabbage shrinks into the hot water. It has become a fragrant soup, infused with flavor.
  28. lilting
    characterized by a buoyant rhythm
    She speaks in Mandarin, its warm, lilting tones shedding her armor from the day.
  29. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    “May?” he asks tentatively. “I don’t know what’s going on in your head. I just wanted you to know I’m really sorry.”
  30. legacy
    an applicant with a relative who attended the same school
    Didn't he go to Yale? It's called legacy, Josh. You’re going to get in to at least one Ivy just because your dad went there.
  31. pilfer
    make off with belongings of others
    Soft ones
    pilfered from my parents’ bed
    were best.
  32. delicacy
    something considered choice to eat
    “Besides, instant noodles are a delicacy.”
  33. gangly
    tall, thin, and awkward
    She’s coming in for a hug. I try to position my arms to fit hers, but she switches positions last minute, so I readjust. Then she readjusts, so I readjust, back and forth, like two gangly middle schoolers trying to dance for the first time.
  34. stocky
    having a short and solid form or stature
    His gray T-shirt is ever so slightly stretched over his stocky frame—just enough to accentuate the muscles in his arms and chest, but not enough to be tight.
  35. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    She’s Sharpied a few subtle designs along the bottom of the small front pocket.
Created on Mon Sep 25 10:52:44 EDT 2023 (updated Mon Sep 25 13:29:33 EDT 2023)

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