Someday We Will Fly: Chapters 8–12

by Rachel DeWoskin
The daughter of Jewish circus performers, fifteen-year-old Lillia Kaczka must flee 1940 German-occupied Warsaw and help her family survive in war-torn Shanghai.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–12, Chapter 13–Encore
35 words 23 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. indifferent
    showing no care or concern in attitude or action
    “Parties at this moment are inappropriate. No one who is indifferent to the suffering of those around them is a suitable friend for you.”
  2. repent
    feel sorry for; be contrite about
    He said, “Don’t apologize for being my child,” and then there was nothing for us to say. I couldn’t repent for costing him Alenka, and he couldn’t for costing me my mother.
  3. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    I thought of the sad rat scuttling across our room and smoothed down my dress.
  4. frivolous
    not serious in content, attitude, or behavior
    He found Rebecca frivolous, giggling girls in a lavish doorway evidence of his original suspicion.
  5. lavish
    characterized by extravagance and profusion
    He found Rebecca frivolous, giggling girls in a lavish doorway evidence of his original suspicion.
  6. strew
    spread by scattering
    A velvet couch was strewn with pillows.
  7. plait
    make by braiding or interlacing
    I didn’t believe,
    Standing on the bank of a river
    Which was wide and swift,
    That I would cross that bridge
    Plaited from thin, fragile reeds
  8. tenderfoot
    an inexperienced person
    “If you want to pass your tenderfoot test,” Rebecca was saying, “you have to be able to tie three knots. You can pick from reef, sheet, fisherman’s, overhand...”
  9. palette
    a board on which an artist mixes paints
    Sally held out a printed ticket: ENCHANTED PALETTE, CARNIVAL OF THE 6 ARTIST PAINTERS, TO BE HELD AT THE TABARIN, 1124 BROADWAY, E.
  10. canteen
    a flask for carrying water; used by soldiers or travelers
    My shirt stuck to my back as I checked my bag: bread, a canteen of boiled water, and one hard-boiled egg.
  11. ecstatic
    feeling great rapture or delight
    Everyone arrived shouting with excitement. We boarded the ferry like a gaggle of ecstatic ducks.
  12. canvas
    a heavy, closely woven fabric
    We recited our pledge and then attempted to set up tents from pieces of gray-green canvas and a pile of poles whose order was mysterious. We held them up, tried to make them stand, dropped them, and tangled cloth around them.
  13. nettle
    plant having stinging hairs that cause skin irritation
    Later, I carefully pulled up nettles, sixteen small sticks, and an empty bullet casing.
  14. objectionable
    causing offense or disapproval
    But he didn’t acknowledge it, seemed to find nothing objectionable in my gobbling food from the ground.
  15. anticipation
    expecting with confidence of fulfillment
    I arrived at the new building feeling shy and almost feverish with the roasting heat from outside and the anticipation of seeing Wei after so many days.
  16. noble
    having high or elevated character
    “It’s noble of you to try to say so, Lillia, but we’ve already worked this matter out, and we’re not able to revisit it.”
  17. delirious
    experiencing hallucinations
    I put our towel on Naomi’s forehead only to feel the cloth turn instantly hot. Papa was delirious, shouting: “Sergo! Sergo!” their boss from the circus, not Jewish, not in danger, nowhere near.
  18. concession
    the act of yielding
    On Chusan Road, there were entrances and exits on both sides of the shop I was actually headed to, a small concession to dignity that seemed worthless now.
  19. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    I walked in the front door and went straight to the desk, where a man stood, gnarled behind wire-rimmed glasses with a single lens.
  20. lush
    characterized by extravagance and profusion
    Music played evenly from somewhere. How different this sound was from the notes shivering out of Leo and Talia’s violin. These were lush, plump chords, but also artificial, mechanically made.
  21. hallucinate
    have illusions; perceive what is not actually there
    A week had passed when I heard a knock on the door and a voice calling my name, thought I was hallucinating, that I had fever, and we would all perish.
  22. sheen
    the visual property of something that shines
    Natasha helped me choke myself into the luxurious but dirty red dress. An oily sheen weighed down the silk.
  23. insignificant
    of little importance or influence or power; of minor status
    Instead of a real person at Magnifique, I had to appear like a dream. And not one person’s, but a dream that could belong to anyone, a fogged mirror, in which whoever looked could see what he wanted. We were, I understood, to be cloudy and insignificant.
  24. frenzied
    excessively agitated
    Soon ice would line our windows again. People would walk the streets with frenzied purpose because our skin was freezing.
  25. troupe
    an organization of performers and associated personnel
    “Meet the Shanghai troupe,” I told Rosy Mischa. “Wei, Biata, Rebecca, Taube, Aili, and O-lan from The Good Earth. And, Naomi, of course, not a puppet but a girl.”
  26. undiminished
    not lessened
    My parents had been full of undiminished joy, and they both preferred presents that didn’t last, performances, what they called experiences of beauty.
  27. stagger
    walk with great difficulty
    She had seen that Papa was crying and was trying to get to him, waving her arms and staggering toward him until he picked her up and they patted each other.
  28. embroidery
    decorative needlework
    On my sixth Saturday at Magnifique, Madame Su led me to the changing room and handed me a new silk dress, also red, but darker and tighter than the first. A dragon of yellow embroidery thread writhed accusingly up its side.
  29. admonish
    scold or reprimand; take to task
    Madame Su waved her arms from the side of the dining room, mimicking and admonishing me: dance.
  30. glaring
    shining intensely
    But we ended up at the stairs to the glaring stage.
  31. informal
    having or fostering a warm or friendly atmosphere
    “No need to call me sir,” he said, “We can be more informal than that. Call me Oue.”
  32. kosher
    conforming to the dietary laws of Judaism
    “It’s fine for me to eat it,” I said, thinking of Babcia’s kosher kitchen, my beautiful babcia herself, her parrot, her painted ceiling, braided silver hair, English books, the chair up her staircase, soft bedrooms on the second floor.
  33. striking
    having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
    She was striking and childish, blotchy cheeks, milk teeth streaked with lipstick I saw when she flashed a sudden, artificial smile.
  34. insignia
    a distinguishing mark or symbol
    We might study languages and Torah, wear shirts with Kadoorie insignias, teach our sisters to sing in Chinese.
  35. rambunctious
    noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline
    We were alive, and that night in my cot, overrun by small biting bugs, I thanked God for everything left: Papa; Naomi; Wei; Aili; Taube; Leo; Talia; Rebecca; Dr. Hao; Dr. Rosen; the Song girls, bright-eyed, rambunctious playmates for Naomi.
Created on Fri Mar 08 08:30:44 EST 2024 (updated Fri Mar 08 15:53:26 EST 2024)

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