This Is How I Roll: Chapter 28–Epilogue

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
35 words 20 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. implode
    burst inward
    If I had to wait one more day—even
one more hour—before I confessed, I might implode from stress.
  2. marinate
    soak food in a seasoned or flavorful liquid before cooking
    “My seafood supplier delivered some amazing sablefish this
morning. I marinated it in miso and I’m firing up the grill in the
backyard.”
  3. unsettle
    cause to feel nervous, anxious, or upset
    He hardly ever raised his voice, but his low, quiet voice was unsettling.
  4. thwart
    hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire
    Her dad supported her. My parents thwarted me at every turn.
  5. mull
    reflect deeply on a subject
    I’d stayed in bed later than normal, mulling over
all the different scenarios that could play out.
  6. loom
    hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
    I opened my eyes to see Mom’s face looming over me.
  7. forthcoming
    easygoing and open when speaking or sharing information
    Keeping secrets made it hard to ask others to be honest and forthcoming.
  8. lenient
    not strict
    “We’ve been too lenient. I’m not blaming you, Sana, I’m blaming us. It’s our job as your
parents to, well, parent you. Things need to change.”
  9. confrontation
    discord resulting from a clash of ideas or opinions
    I never
intended to worry or upset my parents. I just hadn’t wanted to
deal with confrontation.
  10. slew
    a large number or amount or extent
    Waiting was the worst!
Fortunately my phone started to ping with a slew of messages. A
welcome distraction.
  11. execution
    the act of accomplishing some aim
    “And Mom showed me your videos.
Kawaii sushi. Nice concept and good execution.”
  12. waver
    be unsure or weak
    My smile wavered slightly as I set the plate on the counter
in front of my dad. Then my nerves disappeared because Dad was...smiling.
  13. verdict
    a position or opinion reached after consideration
    Popping a piece into his
mouth, he chewed slowly. This was the real test. I could hardly
breathe as I waited for his verdict.
  14. exasperated
    greatly annoyed; out of patience
    Now Dad looked exasperated. “Of course not! Where is all
this coming from? When have I ever looked down on any style
of cooking?”
  15. hostel
    inexpensive supervised lodging
    When I got there, I stayed in a hostel and took whatever
job I could get.
  16. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    Dad nodded, looking solemn.
  17. dabble
    work with in an amateurish manner
    But for
this reason I want my daughter to enjoy her childhood. To dabble and discover, to play and grow and learn. It makes me happy
to see Susannah try new and different things.
  18. compel
    necessitate or exact
    It didn’t matter if it was bongo drums or an accordion, he’d let me play and experiment. And when in the end I
didn’t feel compelled to learn to play any instrument, he’d let it
go.
  19. drudgery
    hard, monotonous, routine work
    Working there had begun to feel more and more like drudgery.
  20. strive
    exert much effort or energy
    She should be having fun, not striving for perfection like
I was when I was her age.
  21. attainable
    capable of being accomplished
    Perfection isn’t attainable.
  22. berate
    censure severely or angrily
    “I made you cry.” Dad’s shoulders sagged. “And while I had
never dared shed tears in front of my parents when they berated
me, I knew exactly how you felt. I never wanted to be like my
parents, and there I was repeating their mistakes, making you
feel small.”
  23. stubborn
    refusing to change one's mind or ways; difficult to convince
    My stubborn and stoic dad was making an effort to change.
  24. resume
    take up or begin anew
    I retained the use of my phone and laptop, and I was allowed to
go to Mrs. Yamada’s on Wednesdays to resume my cooking lessons.
  25. silver lining
    a positive aspect of a difficult situation
    While I didn’t love the loss of freedom and trust
my parents had in me, there were definitely silver linings. I continued to work with Mom on the kitchen renovation. And the
best part? A few times a week, I got to be at Dad’s restaurant
during the day before the restaurant opened.
  26. aspiration
    a cherished desire
    He didn’t want a
career at the restaurant or to take on more hours during his last
year of coursework for his degree in microbiology. And he wasn’t
the only one with other aspirations.
  27. meddling
    the act of improperly interfering in some situation
    If only I’d been able to tell him the truth on my own, without
Harley’s meddling.
  28. paisley
    a fabric with a colorful swirled pattern of curved shapes
    Harley picked at an invisible thread on her pink paisley dress.
  29. buoy
    uplift or give encouragement to
    A brief flash of Koji’s dimple continued to buoy my hopes
that we would be okay.
  30. stealthy
    marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
    He was a bully, but a stealthy one.
Perfect teacher’s pet, but if he didn’t have an audience? Cruel
and mean.
  31. condone
    excuse, overlook, or make allowances for
    Not that I condoned violence, but it was sweet that
fifth-grade Koji was just as protective of his mom then as he
was now.
  32. policy
    a plan of action adopted by an individual or social group
    The school had a zero-tolerance policy.
  33. callous
    a skin area that is thick or hard from continual pressure
    His palm
was warm, calloused.
  34. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    Dad and Mrs. Yamada materialized next to me.
  35. pan
    make a sweeping movement
    I waited a beat knowing the camera was panning back to a
wider shot.
Created on Sun May 19 16:33:09 EDT 2024 (updated Mon May 20 16:02:43 EDT 2024)

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