This Is How I Roll: Chapters 1–7

by Debbi Michiko Florence
The daughter of a sushi chef whose Californian restaurant has been featured in magazines, twelve-year-old Susannah Mikami wants to prove to her father that she is worthy of a place in his kitchen.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–15, Chapters 16–27, Chapter 28–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. determined
    strongly motivated to succeed
    I
was determined to make the perfect breakfast.
  2. sheepish
    showing a sense of shame
    “Hey, Mom,” I said with a sheepish wave.
  3. racket
    a loud and disturbing noise
    “Good thing your father is already at the restaurant. You
could wake the dead with the racket you’re making.”
  4. contemplate
    reflect deeply on a subject
    I contemplated my answer to Mom’s seemingly simple
question.
  5. opt
    select as an alternative over another
    This morning I opted for the whole truth.
  6. pristine
    completely free from dirt or contamination
    “Whoa. What a mess! Is Uncle
Hiro home?”
    She knew as well as I did that he’d hit the roof if he saw his pristine kitchen like this.
  7. quirk
    twist or curve abruptly
    Uncle Luke’s smile was the exact same as Mom’s, quirking a little higher on the left side.
  8. slump
    assume a drooping posture or carriage
    Charli slumped on a kitchen chair.
  9. foil
    hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire
    He flapped his hand at me. I sighed. Foiled once again by
the Mikami Way.
  10. ruffle
    disturb the smoothness of
    Dad grinned and ruffled my hair.
  11. garnish
    something added to a dish for flavor or decoration
    By the time I finished cleaning up, Dad had made two
gorgeous rolled Japanese omelets, plated on blue-and-white
dishes with a garnish of green onions cut on the bias.
  12. hue
    the quality of a color determined by its dominant wavelength
    I sketched out a sushi roll on
paper while Charli started tearing up pieces of colored tissue paper.
    “I wish I could figure out what my thing was,” Charli said,
making piles for different hues.
  13. falter
    move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
    I kept the grin on my face, hoping it didn’t falter into a grimace.
  14. curry
    a South Asian dish flavored with a spice mixture
    A couple of days later, when Dad was teaching me how to make Japanese curry from scratch, I had accidentally put sugar
instead of flour into the roux.
  15. flush
    turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame
    “Susannah, what are you doing here?”
    My face flushed even hotter, realizing that the film crew was
witnessing his displeasure at my appearance.
  16. sustainable
    using methods that do not cause harm to the environment
    “We loved your documentary
on sustainable fish.”
  17. reluctantly
    with a certain degree of unwillingness
    Dad took the package from me, and I reluctantly followed
him into the kitchen.
  18. rave
    praise enthusiastically
    Maybe he would taste my pancakes
before he got back to filming. I hung around just in case he
wanted to run after me to rave about how perfect they were.
  19. unruly
    unable to be governed or controlled
    Much of the
grass had been removed to make a pretty Zen garden with white
rocks. And the bushes by the front door that used to be unruly
were now shaped into puffy balls.
  20. embroider
    decorate with needlework
    He was very cute, with hair that fell into his eyes, and wore an
orange baseball cap with the words EARTH-LOVE LANDSCAPING embroidered in green over a picture of the earth.
  21. lilt
    a jaunty rhythm in music or speech
    “Koji,” Mr. Perez said with a teasing lilt as he walked past
us. “Stop flirting.”
  22. stifling
    causing one to feel inhibited or oppressed
    She worried over me more than my own parents
did. It was nice in a way, but sometimes her concern felt stifling.
I didn’t like being told what I could or could not do.
  23. appeal
    attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates
    I just remember them because my dad hired them
to work on curb appeal for listings.
  24. palette
    a board on which an artist mixes paints
    “What are we doing today?” I nodded to the paintbrushes
and two plastic palettes on the kitchen table.
  25. tendency
    an inclination to do something
    Charli had a tendency to overreact
and judge.
  26. delinquent
    a young offender
    “What do you mean, disappeared? I saw him this morning.”
    “I mean, I heard he got sent to LA that summer. Maybe to a
juvenile delinquent facility.”
  27. assumption
    a hypothesis that is taken for granted
    “You don’t know for sure. And if
he’s back, then that must mean he’s better. All rehabilitated or
something. Let’s not make assumptions. Innocent until proven
guilty.”
  28. contraption
    a small mechanical device or tool
    We rounded the corner to find Koji watering the flower
beds. He wore a tank contraption strapped to his back and, as
before, he’d rolled his short sleeves to his shoulders, showing off
his arms.
  29. reputable
    held in high esteem and honor
    He seemed perfectly nice, and he had a summer job with a reputable company.
  30. brusqueness
    an abrupt discourteous manner
    “Oh, yeah. Charlotte Hirai.”
    “Charli,” she corrected him with an edge in her voice.
    I gently shook my arm free of her grip and grinned at Koji,
trying to make up for Charli’s brusqueness.
  31. promptly
    with little or no delay
    When he handed my phone back, he said, “Now text me so I
have your number.”
    I promptly typed “hey this is Sana” and his phone buzzed.
  32. inspiring
    stimulating or exalting to the spirit
    I begged off meeting up with Charli on Friday so I could
go to the library and browse the cookbooks for a truly inspiring
new recipe.
  33. fumble
    handle clumsily
    I was so surprised he offered up that information that I fumbled my wallet, and my library card dropped to the carpet.
  34. resent
    feel bitter or indignant about
    I mean, my dad wasn’t home a lot either, but I
never resented him for it. I was proud of him. And I didn’t think
that Dad loved work better than us.
  35. biased
    favoring one person or side over another
    I hadn’t forgotten Charli’s warning or her worries. It wasn’t
like I didn’t respect her opinion, but she was biased. I mean,
yeah, Koji getting expelled was not a good thing, but I needed
to hear his side of the story to make a decision.
  36. stout
    fairly large
    A stout woman wearing a smock over jeans and a
loose, long-sleeved blouse plus a huge sun hat knelt in a flower
bed, pulling weeds.
  37. curtly
    in an abrupt and discourteous manner
    Koji nodded once, curtly, and led me to the back of the small
garden.
  38. swoon
    be overwhelmed with ecstasy, especially when encountering something or someone you admire
    I bit in and nearly swooned. The fruit was sweet and tart at
the same time.
  39. configuration
    an arrangement of parts or elements
    The sink,
stove, and refrigerator were laid out in a triangle configuration and no more than three or four steps apart, making it easy to
move from one station to the next.
  40. heft
    lift or elevate
    Koji hefted a cast-iron pan onto the stove and turned on the
burner.
Created on Sun May 19 16:32:26 EDT 2024 (updated Mon May 20 14:30:19 EDT 2024)

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