Undercover Latina: Chapters 1–6

by Aya de León
As an agent of the International Alternative Intelligence Consortium, fourteen-year-old Andréa Hernández-Baldoquín is assigned to befriend the son of a suspected terrorist in order to prevent a possible attack somewhere in the southwestern U.S.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–13, Chapters 14–20, Chapters 21–28, Chapters 29–35
40 words 114 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. encumbered
    loaded to excess or impeded by a heavy load
    Now I had the board in one hand and the briefcase in the other. Instead of being a swift teen girl, I was an encumbered teen girl.
  2. snag
    an unforeseen obstacle
    “But I hit a snag and I’m lost in Old San Juan. Guide me in!”
  3. nondescript
    lacking distinct or individual characteristics
    The team’s nondescript rental car screeched to a halt.
  4. upholstery
    covering on a piece of furniture
    I leaned back and buckled in, sinking against the soft upholstery.
  5. lurch
    move abruptly
    Mami cut a hard right, and we lurched in the other direction.
  6. debrief
    elicit a report from someone about a mission, job, or event
    “We all know you’re upset. But can we please debrief the details later?”
  7. elaborate
    developed or executed with care and in minute detail
    She did amazing crafts or helped us put on elaborate performances.
  8. intelligence
    the operation of gathering information about an enemy
    “It’s an international intelligence organization that serves people of color.”
    “When you and Papi went out of town, it was to spy?”
  9. tirade
    a speech of violent denunciation
    In the San Juan airport, Mami’s tirade to Jerrold was in murmured tones, but I knew that rage.
  10. incriminate
    suggest that someone is guilty
    During our layover in Dallas, we got word that El Rubio’s briefcase contained evidence to incriminate some real estate guys whose cryptocurrency fortunes were linked to human trafficking.
  11. commission
    place an order for
    Instead of commissioning an architect to design a luxury hotel, El Rubio’s money will go to his defense for his upcoming criminal trial.
  12. bleary
    tired to the point of exhaustion
    Through bleary eyes, I saw the incoming-call notice pop up on my tablet, too.
  13. idle
    run disconnected
    At the curb, a familiar dark sedan idled. I swallowed as I crossed the sidewalk and opened the back door of the car.
  14. consortium
    a cooperative association among institutions or companies
    The International Alternative Intelligence Consortium (IAIC), or “the Factory,” is an association of several intelligence organizations of people of color.
  15. tradecraft
    the techniques and skills used in espionage
    Its members are trained in weapons, tradecraft, and self-defense. We gather information and leak it to the press.
  16. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    At least, I assumed there was a driver.
  17. partition
    a vertical structure that divides or separates
    The partition was up and it was tinted dark, reflecting my tired-looking face back to me.
  18. mannerism
    a behavioral attribute that is distinctive to an individual
    I could change my way of speaking, my name, my mannerisms.
  19. tawny
    having the color of tanned leather
    My skin was tawny since our trip to Puerto Rico, but I’d been paler during the winters when we were living on the East Coast.
  20. supremacist
    a person who believes that some group is superior to others
    “His father’s a white supremacist,” Jerrold said. “Whatever his father has planned, it’s about targeting Black or brown or Jewish folks.”
  21. extremist
    a person who holds radical views
    “These are extremists.”
    “But they’re on the internet talking about killing people,” I said.
  22. obscure
    make unclear or less visible
    The lower half of his face was obscured by a full beard.
  23. manifesto
    a public declaration of intentions
    “We also have this old driver’s license picture of him that he’s posted with some of his manifestos.”
  24. malice
    the quality of threatening evil
    He was unsmiling but didn’t have any of the malice in his face that you would expect from a potential mass murderer.
  25. estranged
    caused to be unloved
    You won’t be dealing with him at all, just befriending his estranged son.
  26. bureau
    an administrative unit of government
    They took the evidence to some trusted allies in the FBI. Unfortunately, the Bureau had ‘other priorities.’
  27. credible
    capable of being believed
    With the web page down, they refused to call it a credible threat.
  28. solemnly
    in a serious and dignified manner
    Papi nodded solemnly.
  29. expedite
    process fast and efficiently
    Mami and I walked down an expedited lane to the TSA agent who would check our IDs.
  30. beckon
    signal with the hands or nod
    I turned and blew him a kiss, and then another TSA agent beckoned me to step through.
  31. ambitious
    having a strong desire for success or achievement
    The school takes up a whole block in what the city of Carson ambitiously calls downtown.
  32. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    I was hoping he would offer to walk me there, but instead he just muttered, “To the right and down the stairs,” and scuttled away.
  33. willowy
    slender and graceful
    Mandy introduced me to four other girls with willowy shapes and similar fashion choices.
  34. authentic
    conforming to fact and therefore worthy of belief
    The worst part wasn’t the chalky refried beans or the taco shell like cardboard. It wasn’t even the packets of “authentic” salsa that tasted more like ketchup.
  35. listless
    lacking zest or vivacity
    So I moved the food around the plate listlessly.
  36. utterly
    completely and without qualification
    All day, I failed utterly to connect with Kyle.
  37. vicinity
    a surrounding or nearby region
    I pulled the lock picks out of my pocket. I was less experienced than Mom, but she wanted me to get practice in real-life situations, and the stakes here were lower than they would be if there were an actual terrorist in the vicinity.
  38. lacquer
    coat with varnish
    Mom played the slo-mo video, and I watched the secretary’s lacquered pink nails tap the keyboard.
  39. sift
    check and sort carefully
    I slipped into the girl’s bathroom for privacy, locked myself into the last stall, and sifted through the pages.
  40. scrawl
    write carelessly
    They were just schoolbooks. There was nothing scrawled in the margins. The notebook had only notes for class.
Created on Mon Nov 13 09:39:47 EST 2023 (updated Tue Nov 14 11:28:29 EST 2023)

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