"One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia, List 6

In the summer of 1968, three sisters travel to California to visit their estranged mother. While there, they learn about the fight for equality and civil rights.

This list covers "Big Red S"–"Expert Colored Counting."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6, List 7, List 8, List 9, List 10

Here are links to our lists for other other books by Rita Williams-Garcia: P.S. Be Eleven, Gone Crazy in Alabama, Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
27 words 30 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. bother
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
    Outside of the Flipper incident, we didn’t fight over TV, which would mean less noise to bother Cecile.
  2. shift
    move abruptly
    Even when we ate on the floor in the living room, I'd catch her eyes shift to the door when she heard a noise.
  3. intention
    a wish or design that you plan to carry out
    That saved me from lying about getting shrimp lo mein when I had no intention of going to Ming’s.
  4. customer
    someone who pays for goods or services
    She had other customers to yell at.
  5. role
    the actions and activities assigned to a person or group
    “Because,” I said, enjoying my role as their enemy and big sister, “that’s not food for everyday eating.”
  6. brave
    possessing or displaying courage
    Now that I could smell the cabbage and onion from the brown paper bag, I lost that feeling of being calm and brave like Papa.
  7. occur
    come to one's mind
    It didn’t occur to me to use her poet name, Nzila, to maybe soften her up.
  8. dread
    be afraid or scared of
    I dreaded this moment.
  9. maintain
    keep in a certain state, position, or activity
    Maintained her long, hard stare.
  10. boil
    immerse in a heated liquid, often for cooking purposes
    “Boil them with the cabbage and onion.”
  11. touchy
    quick to take offense
    People in Oakland were touchy about pigs.
  12. aroma
    a distinctive odor that is pleasant
    It didn’t smell like Big Ma’s kitchen in Brooklyn, but it was the aroma of real food cooking.
  13. splatter
    dash a liquid upon or against
    I thought of all those colors, dripping and splattering on Vonetta’s and Fern’s clothes, and having to scrub them without a washboard.
  14. admit
    declare to be true or accept the reality of
    I had to admit, I liked being seen as one of the classroom helpers.
  15. feature
    the characteristic parts of a person's face
    As he filled up his cartons, I studied every feature of his face.
  16. excuse
    serve as a reason or cause or justification of
    I knew my curiosity didn’t excuse my staring or wanting to pry.
  17. complexion
    the coloring of a person's face
    I'd have been a red-faced rose if not for my Hershey brown complexion.
  18. ignorance
    the lack of knowledge or education
    I didn’t like having my ignorance shoved at me, especially by the likes of Eunice Ankton.
  19. apologize
    acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing
    The last thing I'd do was own up to my ignorance and then apologize.
  20. comeback
    a quick reply to a question or remark
    Then I got suckered into a school-yard comeback I should have seen coming.
  21. expert
    having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude
    My sisters and I became expert colored counters.
  22. variety
    show consisting of a series of short unrelated performances
    And of course, The Mike Douglas Show five days a week because Mike Douglas always had Negro performers on his variety show.
  23. incident
    a single distinct event
    Outside of the Flipper incident, we didn’t fight over TV, which would mean less noise to bother Cecile.
  24. portable
    easily or conveniently transported
    If she bought a portable TV set, we could put it in our room and she wouldn’t have to see us for hours.
  25. exact
    characterized by perfect conformity to fact or truth
    I didn’t know Cecile’s exact age, but she had to be over thirty.
  26. jealous
    painfully desirous of another's advantages
    In fact, I said that little girl could have been Fern, which made Vonetta jealous.
  27. flummox
    be a mystery or bewildering to
    Cecile made a “what” expression. Flummoxed. Good old Fern! Fern had managed to completely flummox the Establishment.
Created on 三月 4, 2013 (updated 二月 28, 2019)

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