The Wrong Way Home: Chapters 23–25

by Kate O'Shaughnessy
When twelve-year-old Fern's mom abruptly moves them both across the country, away from their sustainable Ranch community, Fern’s experiences broaden, and she must decide whether to trust her mom and her new emerging self, or return to the Ranch.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–5, Chapter 6, Chapters 7–9, Chapters 10–13, Chapters 14–18, Chapters 19–22, Chapters 23–25, Chapters 26-31, Chapters 32-34
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. roti
    flat pancake-like bread cooked on a griddle
    Eddie’s dad—Dev—serves each of us a huge scoop of vegetarian curry over fluffy white rice, and sticks a piece of flatbread called “roti” on the side.
  2. humane
    marked by concern with the alleviation of suffering
    “Oh. Well. Even so, it’s kind of a miracle he survived.”
    “I still don’t understand what you’re getting at,” Eddie says. She’s holding Tuna even closer now.
    “I’m just saying it’s a miracle he didn’t starve to death. Most of the time, it’s more humane to kill them than to let them die from hunger.”
  3. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    And then, as if on cue, Tuna saunters into the room and jumps up onto the bed. He lets out a long meow, and then settles in, right against my thigh.
  4. confide
    reveal in private
    As we continue to sit there, waiting for something that may or may not appear, I find myself telling Eddie more about the Ranch than I mean to. Maybe it’s the darkness or the fact that she confided in me. I tell her about our schedules, about the way life is structured, how Dr. Ben oversees it all.
  5. societal
    relating to people in general
    I even find myself telling her about how humanity is off course, how we’re overconnected, overstimulated, undernourished. That we’re hurtling toward environmental collapse, societal collapse, and that the Ranch isn’t just a model of a sustainable future, it is the future. It offers protection and safety.
  6. waver
    move or sway to and fro
    I blink hard a couple of times to make sure I’m truly seeing what I think I’m seeing.
    Because at the top of the bluff I see a light through the fog. The way it wavers is like a lantern or a candle. It’s hard to see any real details with the fog and the darkness, but I swear I can almost see the shape of a person. A person in a long white dress.
  7. elaborate
    developed or executed with care and in minute detail
    This is an elaborate hoax. Now we have to figure out who it is and why they’re doing it.
  8. widower
    a man whose wife is dead, especially if not remarried
    Some of the visitors make shrines, leave flowers at her statue, or give small offerings to the sea. Some are widows or widowers, others are people with relatives or children who have gone missing.
  9. imposter
    a person who makes deceitful pretenses
    I read the words again and again. I know Eddie and I are trying to prove the opposite—that the Spirit of the Sea is a big fake, an imposter. But I’m exactly like those people the article is talking about. All I want is to find my way back to the people I love.
  10. debris
    the remains of something that has been destroyed
    We bring a blanket and a packed lunch. I bring the book on whales plus my trash-picking supplies, since even in the darkness I noticed there was some debris on the beach.
  11. insulin
    a glucose-regulating hormone produced in the pancreas
    “I’m diabetic,” he explains when he sees me looking. “This is my insulin pump. It’s been acting up the past two days.”
  12. contraption
    a small mechanical device or tool
    “This is my insulin pump. It’s been acting up the past two days.”
    I look at the little contraption again. “Is that—medicine?”
    “It sure is.”
  13. initiative
    readiness to embark on bold new ventures
    “Bump me back.”
    “Oh. Right.” I make a fist of my own and bump his.
    “But seriously, I’m impressed. You have great initiative.”
  14. conservation
    careful management of the environment and natural resources
    He thinks for a second. “You know, there’s a great program you might be interested in. It’s a youth marine biology day camp. I help them out sometimes. I feel like you’d be a great fit. You get to study whales and other sea life, and learn about ocean conservation.”
  15. lull
    make calm or still
    Mom was studying at our little desk, and the soft light and the sound of her pen scratching against the paper lulled me to sleep.
  16. receptive
    ready or willing to welcome favorably
    I guess I’m not the only one who’s felt ignorant out here. I could say, We can go back. We can go back today. Right now she might even be receptive.
    But I also know how hard she’s been studying.
  17. mural
    a painting that is applied to a wall surface
    “We’re only a half hour away, but I don’t think you’ve seen the Golden Gate Bridge yet, have you?”
    I shake my head. I’ve seen pictures of it, though. There’s a big mural of it at school in the main hallway.
  18. intertwine
    spin, wind, or twist together
    She tells me about their root systems—that even though the trees can grow over three hundred feet high, their roots barely go down a dozen feet in the ground. She says they survive by extending outward in a shallow layer, intertwining with the roots of the trees around them.
  19. moderation
    the trait of avoiding excesses
    I hesitate, looking at the pretty little cakes. Maybe a tiny bit of sugar is okay. In moderation. Honey is a kind of sugar after all, right?
  20. savor
    taste appreciatively
    Maybe I can eat petits fours sometimes and still be healthy. So I take one, and I eat it slowly, trying not to feel too guilty. I savor every bite.
  21. begrudgingly
    in an unwilling manner
    “Fern. Math.” Mom points at my bag. I start to protest, but she doesn’t stop pointing until I begrudgingly unload my homework on the coffee table.
  22. halfhearted
    feeling or showing little interest or enthusiasm
    Mostly we’re going around, halfheartedly dusting ledges that don’t need to be dusted.
  23. cult
    a religion or sect generally considered to be unorthodox
    Eddie tugs and pulls on the sleeve of her sweater. Her eyes are firmly on the floor. “I think, Fern—I think it’s a cult.”
  24. self-sufficient
    able to provide for your own needs without help from others
    It shouldn’t be a surprise that living more closely with the land, in a self-sufficient community, is the right way to survive.
  25. queasy
    causing or fraught with or showing anxiety
    I start to feel a little queasy.
Created on Sun Apr 27 11:07:42 EDT 2025 (updated Fri May 09 14:33:43 EDT 2025)

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