Shut Up, This Is Serious: Chapters 21-24

by Carolina Ixta
In this novel, high school senior Belén deals with panic attacks in the wake of her father leaving while she tries to help her pregnant best friend Leti prepare to be a mother.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapter 1-3, Chapter 4-6, Chapter 7-9, Chapter 10-13, Chapter 14-17, Chapter 18-20, Chapter 21-24, Chapter 25-28, Chapter 29-32, Chapter 33-37
25 words 16 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. rhythmic
    recurring with measured regularity
    It’s rhythmic at this point: Duvalín, mazapán, orange, phone.
  2. offset
    make up for
    I was hoping Alexis would reply to offset the feeling, but every time I looked at my phone and saw nothing, I felt worse.
  3. optimistic
    hopeful that the best will happen in the future
    I let all the Spanish Christmas songs that felt insensitively optimistic color the gaps of quiet.
  4. ignition
    the mechanism that sparks the fuel in a combustion engine
    But when I opened my mouth to respond, she pulled the car into a parking spot and turned off the ignition.
  5. vanity
    low table with a mirror where one sits while dressing
    I look around at the Precious Moments trinkets collected from baby showers, Quinceañeras, and First Communions lining her vanity—the eyes of the figurines that are soft and sloped and sad.
  6. distort
    twist and press out of shape
    I glance at the flea-market animal blanket sprawled at the foot of the bed, distorting the bodies of two cranes dipping into a lake, finding my angel costume folded neatly beside it.
  7. indentation
    a concave cut or depression in a surface or edge
    It clings to Leti’s stomach, the indentation of her belly button pressing against the cotton.
  8. distribute
    give to several people
    When it’s time to begin, Leti’s tía distributes the songbooks.
  9. gorge
    overeat or eat immodestly
    I rush into the kitchen for food, trying to gorge myself to drown the feeling.
  10. refuge
    a safe place
    How each one is supposed to mark María and José’s travels from Nazareth as they searched for refuge and finally found it in Belén and blah blah blah.
  11. poise
    great coolness and composure under strain
    I watch Leti’s face fixate in composure, a practiced poise to her smile.
  12. obscure
    make unclear or less visible
    In the dark, I stared at Liam and Lauren’s real estate ad, their faces obscured by new graffiti.
  13. accumulate
    collect or gather
    I felt like all the burden in my body accumulated from the Posada was dwindling, like I was floating.
  14. remnant
    a small part remaining after the main part no longer exists
    I’m so far from home that everything looks like a remnant of its shape, reduced to an orb of light in the horizon.
  15. constellation
    an arrangement of parts or elements
    I wonder where everything is amid the city’s constellation—where my house is and where Leti’s house is and where my ma is and where my pa is.
  16. dissipate
    go away, scatter, or disappear
    All the thoughts about his neighborhood and his parents begin dissipating, replaced by the feeling of his hand against my skin.
  17. pendulum
    an apparatus in which an object is mounted to swing freely
    The pendulum in my chest swings from heavy to light, aching with indecision.
  18. disintegrate
    break into parts or components or lose cohesion or unity
    I close my eyes and try to imagine the feeling disintegrating, seeping through the pores of my skin.
  19. reminiscent
    serving to bring to mind
    The only thing that is different in the pang in my stomach, a blossoming pain that feels familiar, reminiscent of all the nights I’d watch my ma in the living room.
  20. gradient
    a graded change in the magnitude of something
    With the darkening gradient of the evening marking the hour, she would wait for my pa.
  21. continuation
    the act of carrying on with an activity without interruption
    They usually disappear when they’re big like Leti, going to some continuation school or doing packets at home.
  22. ransack
    search thoroughly
    When I get home, my stomach desperately growls for fries, but I ransack our freezer and dump a bunch of Tajín onto a bag of peas.
  23. spritz
    squirt a liquid quickly
    I return the bottles, spritz another puff of perfume between my thighs, and shut Ava’s door behind me.
  24. stammer
    speak haltingly
    “Abigail, my, uh—has this thing, and then, uh,” he stammers, tugging on his shirt.
  25. calculate
    make a mathematical computation
    I calculate in my mind, then shake my head.
Created on Tue Apr 22 06:52:10 EDT 2025 (updated Fri Apr 25 18:13:18 EDT 2025)

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