The Moonlit Vine: Chapter 27–Epilogue

by Elizabeth Santiago
Fourteen-year-old Taína (Ty) Perez is overwhelmed by troubles within her family, school, and gang-filled neighborhood, when her dying Puerto Rican grandmother passes down sacred objects that had belonged to their ancestral Taíno leader and warrior.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 7, Chapters 8–17, Chapters 18–26, Chapter 27–Epilogue
40 words 15 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. skeptical
    marked by or given to doubt
    A student raised his hand and said, “I haven’t got the book yet because there ain’t no more in the library.”
    Ms. Neil looked skeptical. “I ordered plenty,” she said, as if it were the student’s fault, or worse, as if he were lying.
  2. emanate
    proceed or issue forth, as from a source
    Love emanated from Clara. It looked as if she was born to be a leader by the way she stood tall and the way she interacted with her family.
  3. gravitate
    move toward
    Not only did her siblings gravitate toward her as the eldest, but others in the community also commented to Ides about how smart and capable Clara was.
  4. misgiving
    painful expectation
    Ides smiled despite her misgivings about what the uniform represented.
  5. strife
    bitter conflict; heated or violent dissension
    She had to look toward the future and pray that Clara and her potential daughter and daughter’s daughter would continue to do their part to preserve who Boriqueños were, regardless of the struggles and strife that would come with these new “opportunities,” and make their history known.
  6. dilapidated
    in a state of decay, ruin, or deterioration
    She was close to Main Street, Atabey Market, and the park, but once you passed the park, the homes looked more dilapidated and unkempt.
  7. confines
    a bounded scope
    Nothing about it gave anyone the impression that it was a place of learning for children until you read the sign that said Denton Elementary School. There wasn’t a visible playground, no colorful, decorative elements, nor any sense that there was joy in the confines of its three stories of brick walls.
  8. pervade
    spread or diffuse through
    A rustling of hay and the scratching of a rake filled her ears while the scent of freshly turned soil pervaded her nostrils.
  9. feign
    give a false appearance of
    “I feel like you haven’t accepted my apology and still think I’m a thief.”
    Isaura feigned shock. “When did you apologize?” she asked.
  10. soothsayer
    someone who makes predictions of the future
    Juana was known in the area as the neighborhood soothsayer. If you wanted your future told or help with a problem, you’d go to Juana.
  11. sparse
    not dense or plentiful
    As she opened and entered the quiet room, everything was as Abuela had kept it. Tidy, sparse, yet full of her personality.
  12. fathom
    come to understand
    Ty couldn’t fathom losing her brother too.
  13. stealthily
    in a manner marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
    She moved quickly and stealthily the long way around, so as not to be noticed, and still arrived at Denton Elementary in less than ten minutes.
  14. labored
    requiring or showing effort
    “They pulled me here,” Luis said through labored, gut-wrenching cries.
  15. harbor
    hold back a thought or feeling about
    Outside, Ty allowed the deep, painful feelings she’d been harboring to rise to the surface of her skin.
  16. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    Lifting her eyes, she watched her mother and Luis engage in a deep embrace on the dingy sidewalk, and she jogged to catch up to them.
  17. relentless
    not willing or able to stop or yield
    His listlessness caused Ty to want to do something more extreme than ignoring the relentless calls Principal Moriarty was making to Esmeralda’s cell.
  18. adamant
    impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, or reason
    Professor Martinez had been adamant that she come along with Sofia.
  19. cassette
    a flat case holding magnetic tape for playing sound or video
    “Do you mind if I record?” she asked, pulling out a small recorder with a mini- cassette.
    “Wow,” Ty said. “Look at that. It’s like old-school.”
  20. ensue
    take place or happen afterward or as a result
    You would have thought she’d physically slapped everyone in the room. Yelling ensued.
  21. flushed
    reddened as if with blood from emotion or exertion
    Benny looked flushed. “I don’t know,” he said. “I might have, but I don’t know,” he repeated.
  22. reiterate
    say, state, or perform again
    “Then I noticed that some guys have been following me around the neighborhood. I don’t know who they are. I wonder if the rock might be for me.”
    Officer Washington was still. “You don’t know who these guys are?” he reiterated.
  23. notation
    a comment or instruction (usually added)
    He made a notation in his notepad for the first time since he’d entered the unit.
  24. jut
    extend out or project in space
    She turned and leaned against her dresser when she saw half of the box jutting out from under her bed.
  25. ogle
    stare or look at, especially with amorous intentions
    He ogled the wooden box. “I heard what Abuela said that night she was a ghost,” he said, lowering his voice. “She gave you special powers, like a superhero. The powers are in the box, aren’t they?”
  26. pry
    move or force in an effort to get something open
    Whether it was time or not, Ty knew they had to try, so she picked at the medallion’s locket mechanism to pry it open.
  27. residue
    matter that remains after something has been removed
    Ty and Juana peeked inside the medallion and Ty touched what looked to be a dusty, ashy residue. It felt a little bit like mesh but was not as thick or solid.
  28. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    The inner circle had disappeared and there was no sign of her grandmother or any of the other women who had materialized.
  29. scathing
    marked by harshly abusive criticism
    It was a pretty scathing review of the school system and the way school resource officers were used versus counselors.
  30. admonish
    scold or reprimand; take to task
    There were even tweets tagging the principal of the school and the superintendent of the district, admonishing them for having school resource officers in an elementary school in the first place.
  31. strew
    spread by scattering
    Ty joined him and the two of them were holding hands jumping around the room trying to avoid the little plastic figures strewn on the floor.
  32. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    “Now that everyone’s together,” Ty announced over the din, “Ma, Dad, you are not going to believe this, but the article about what happened to Luis came out today, and it’s getting mad attention.”
  33. advisory
    giving guidance
    And tell him that we want a student advisory group to help address issues at the school.
  34. surpass
    move past
    Esmeralda had been tracking the GoFundMe project, and it had surpassed the goal of twenty-five thousand dollars.
  35. flustered
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    “What does that mean?” she asked Vincent.
    “Well, I mean, I don’t,” Vincent became flustered and Ty stepped in.
  36. discipline
    training to improve strength or self-control
    “You really are a smart girl, but you lack discipline and focus. Someone has to push you.”
  37. coalition
    an organization of people involved in a pact or treaty
    The flyers for the anti-gentrification league and the anti-violence coalition also sat on the table.
  38. prance
    move or step in a lively, spirited, or showy way
    The song made the women feel free and beautiful as they pranced along the beach.
  39. weathered
    worn by exposure to the elements
    Isaura looked lovingly at her ancestral mother as Anacaona gently touched her weathered face.
  40. boisterous
    marked by exuberance and high spirits
    With that, Anacaona dashed gracefully and purposefully toward her daughters, joining them in boisterous laughter and loud singing signifying freedom, liberation, and lightness of being.
Created on Wed Sep 11 16:57:21 EDT 2024 (updated Thu Sep 12 15:49:28 EDT 2024)

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