Undercover Latina: Chapters 7–13

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
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. curio
    something unusual, maybe worthy of collecting
    I tried to kick back, but there were pillows with cartoon puppies on them, and across from the door was a curio cabinet with porcelain figures of big-eyed animals.
  2. quirky
    strikingly unconventional
    It was nice enough, but it felt more like a quirky guesthouse than someone’s home.
  3. snobby
    tending to associate only with people of a similar background
    “And in the meantime, I have to keep laughing along with these snobby girls when they spout insults about Mexicans.”
  4. cunning
    marked by skill in deception
    “Basically, the white nationalist guy was really cunning, and he figured out how to manipulate the operative.”
  5. redeem
    save from sins
    She had gotten to know the guy personally, which was part of the operation. And she was able to see the good in him. Which is fine. But she couldn’t hold on to the idea of his goodness and the danger he represented at the same time. She thought she could redeem him.
  6. devastate
    cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
    When we’ve been connected to people and communities who have been devastated by racism, we’re far less likely to underestimate the danger of white supremacists.
  7. clique
    an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
    The whole school looked like something on TV, from the linoleum floors to the gray lockers to the cliques of students in the hallways.
  8. conspicuous
    obvious to the eye or mind
    But depending on where Kyle was going, I’d be less conspicuous following him in a group.
  9. auburn
    (of hair) colored a moderate reddish-brown
    A knot of girls with hair that spanned from platinum blond to light auburn. Was that me in the center with the flat sandy hair?
  10. casualty
    someone injured or killed in an accident
    You need to pay attention, or you’ll end up as a hair-removal casualty. Like, their waxing is not the best.
  11. revelation
    an enlightening or astonishing disclosure
    The first thing I noticed was that Kyle had been drinking peppermint tea with milk, not coffee—I could see the little tag hanging out of his cup. But the main revelation was the image on the back of each playing card in front of Kyle: a large gold triangle.
  12. synopsis
    a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument
    I clicked the link to get the story synopsis.
  13. obstruct
    hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of
    Each team plays cards to reach their own goals and attempts to block, delay, or obstruct their opponent from reaching the same goal in their parallel world.
  14. advocate
    a person who pleads for a person, cause, or idea
    Devil’s Advocate sounded creepy. It was one thing to play a game based on rescuing enslaved people, but to play on the other side was messed up.
  15. appeal
    attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates
    I wondered if that was the appeal to Kyle—whether he got kicks out of trying to capture people.
  16. intricate
    having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate
    Each card had an intricate, brightly colored drawing.
  17. novice
    someone new to a field or activity
    “Mandy thought you were slumming to be with me, but really, I’m the one slumming, teaching a novice.”
  18. generic
    having no special or distinctive characteristics; unoriginal
    You have to buy cards. You’re trying to build up a good deck so that you can beat the other person. There are lots of the pretty generic cards.
  19. undercurrent
    a feeling or tendency that is not explicitly expressed
    I kept scanning the way he talked about the cards to see if there was a white supremacist undercurrent.
  20. arsenal
    all the weapons and equipment that a country has
    Like, your opponent might have a really strong arsenal in one era but be weak in another. So if you can play a Time Travel card, you can totally get the better of them.
  21. custom
    made according to the specifications of an individual
    “For my birthday, I’m gonna ask for a custom-made board,” he said. “There are artists that will emphasize your favorite parts of the game.”
  22. contempt
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    I tried to analyze the way he said “poor countries.” Was it with contempt? Like the way certain racists talked about immigrants? Not exactly. But it wasn’t respectful, either.
  23. initiate
    set in motion, start an event or prepare the way for
    “When you play,” Kyle said, “your goal is to free everyone from slavery. When you get them initiated with the necklace, they can get to the triangle stone and breathe underwater to get free.”
  24. jubilant
    joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success
    He took the pair of cards and tapped it on the triangle stone, then he flipped it over, and instead of the character cutting cane, they were standing jubilant in the ocean.
    “Now that character is free,” Kyle said.
  25. gloat
    dwell on with satisfaction
    About an hour later, Kyle had just played a major card and was gloating with victory as Bret shuffled frantically through his hand to respond.
  26. tendency
    an attitude of mind that favors one alternative over others
    I tidied everything so that the Latina barista wouldn’t have to deal with it. Kyle obviously didn’t care about leaving a mess for her—but did it mean he had racist tendencies that I would have to watch for, or was he just being an ordinary oblivious teenage guy?
  27. oblivious
    failing to keep in mind
    I tidied everything so that the Latina barista wouldn’t have to deal with it. Kyle obviously didn’t care about leaving a mess for her—but did it mean he had racist tendencies that I would have to watch for, or was he just being an ordinary oblivious teenage guy?
  28. forsooth
    certainly; indeed (now often used ironically)
    In English class, Ms. Bellman passed out a sheet on decoding Shakespeare. When was I ever going to need to know the word “forsooth”?
  29. facade
    the front of a building
    The post office was in one of those buildings with the Western-town facade.
  30. consistently
    in a systematic or steady manner
    “Yet I’ve consistently beat you when we play at home,” Ramón said.
  31. quip
    make jokes or witty remarks
    I was especially enjoying the way they quipped back and forth as they played. My mom calls it trash talking.
  32. frazzle
    exhaust physically or emotionally
    It belonged to a frazzled woman with pale hair and a clanging key ring in her hand.
  33. squabble
    a quarrel about petty points
    “They fight a lot?” I asked.
    “All the time,” he said. “And we live together. Our moms are housemates. I hear every little squabble.”
  34. bristle
    react in an offended or angry manner
    He didn’t say it in a mean way, but I still bristled.
  35. contemporary
    belonging to the present time
    There was a seventeenth-century villain, Naturalezo, and a contemporary version.
  36. blight
    any plant disease resulting in withering without rotting
    “What if I play this card?” I asked, putting a blight on the sugarcane on his plantation.
  37. brine
    soak in water containing salt
    “The pizza place is sort of...in transition. They used to be a regular place that just sold good pizza. But now they have all sorts of fancy toppings. Goat cheese. Heirloom tomatoes. Olives brined in barley salt.”
  38. pry
    inquire in an uninvited or presumptuous manner
    I could tell that there was more to the story, but I didn’t want to pry.
  39. caricature
    a representation of a person exaggerated for comic effect
    It was startling how much it looked like me. The pen strokes were simple and fast, but he totally captured all the important lines of my features. Sort of like those caricatures that people draw at street fairs, but the head wasn’t oversized.
  40. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    I mustered a big smile.
Created on Mon Nov 13 09:40:02 EST 2023 (updated Tue Nov 14 11:28:37 EST 2023)

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