WORD LISTS

"The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez, Chapters 1–9

Tue Jul 24 14:11:05 EDT 2018
By Vocabulary.com (NY)Visual Thesaurus Moderator
Twelve-year-old Malú loves punk rock, but her mother and the strict principal at her new school definitely do not. With the help of her fellow "misfits," Malú fights to express who she truly is.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–19, Chapters 20–38
maneuver
I maneuvered the blades carefully around the page.
assortment
The yellow Whitman’s Sampler box that held my colored pencils, stickers, and scraps of paper still smelled of chocolate but no longer contained a delicious assortment of candy.
gauzy
I looked up at Mom, who stood over me in her HECHO EN MEXICO T-shirt and a knee-length gauzy skirt.
embroider
Plus, she likes to wear these embroidered dresses and skirts, and wraps called rebozos.
omen
“Mom’s never-ending knitting project. It’s a bad omen.”
superstitious
“I didn’t know you were so superstitious,” he said.
indignantly
“She could,” I said indignantly.
sheepish
I gave Dad a sheepish grin.
generic
It was furnished in that generic way homes in furniture catalogs are.
funk
“If it will get you out of this funk,” Mom said with a sigh.
nape
Her hair was gathered into a stubby bunny tail at the nape of her neck.
raspy
She let out a raspy chuckle.
furrow
Her brow furrowed the way it does when she’s in a work trance, like she was already thinking about her great new job and had forgotten all about me.
awning
The coffee shop we walked to had a bright red awning that said CALACA COFFEE.
loft
There were steps leading up to a loft area with floor seating where pillows of mismatched colors, patterns, and sizes surrounded a few short tables.
pompadour
Mixed in with them were fifties rock-and-roll singers with greased pompadours, and Mexican singers with big mustaches and bigger hats.
earthy
It tasted earthy and sweet, like cinnamon and piloncillo.
abyss
“If I were a sailor back in Columbus’s day, I’d be afraid we were going to drop off into an abyss and be eaten by a giant sea serpent.”
culinary
Our food arrived, and I inspected my Soyrizo for signs of cilantro, my culinary archnemesis, just in case.
fellowship
“It’s a big deal to be offered this visiting professor fellowship,” Mom said.
sulk
“I hope you’ll at least try, for your own sake and for my sanity. No more sulking, okay?”
impression
“Is this really the impression you want to make on people who don’t know anything about you?”
stall
I stalled a bit, looking at my schedule and then at the number next to the door.
slink
I’d barely slinked down into my chair when the girl sitting across the aisle spoke to me.
retort
The words spilled out before I realized it was not only rude but a pointless retort, since she didn’t appear to wear anything but lip gloss.
cringe
I cringed at the sound of my name and raised my hand.
conduct
I could feel Selena watching me as I stuffed my notebook and the code of conduct booklet into my backpack.
corral
Some kids were harder to guess, but we were a herd of dress-code violators, and the man on the stage was corralling us.
deem
No physical alterations that are deemed potentially disruptive, including, but not limited to, unnatural hair color, makeup, or piercings.
disruptive
No physical alterations that are deemed potentially disruptive, including, but not limited to, unnatural hair color, makeup, or piercings.
constructive
“But these are the rules, guys. Don’t like them? Figure out a constructive way to express yourselves.”
anthropologist
I watched them like I was an anthropologist.
sly
“Look, I’m not here to bother you,” she said, giving me a sly smile that said otherwise.
billow
I pictured Mom flying through the air with a rebozo cape billowing behind her and stifled a giggle.
stifle
I pictured Mom flying through the air with a rebozo cape billowing behind her and stifled a giggle.

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