WORD LISTS

"Invisible Son" by Kim Johnson, Chapters 1–5

Sat Jan 27 10:27:12 EST 2024
By Vocabulary.com (NY)Visual Thesaurus Moderator
After serving two months in a youth correctional facility for a robbery he didn't commit, high school senior Andre Jackson returns to his Portland, Oregon neighborhood to find that his freedom is further restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–13, Chapters 14–23, Chapters 24–36, Chapter 37–Epilogue
idle
But now, well, now I don’t mind if I stay hidden. Especially since MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility is in my literal rearview. But the longer we idle in Portland traffic, the more reality sinks in that that’s not how any of this works.
torrential
But it will be as hard to shake the strike against me as it is for the windshield wipers to win their battle against this torrential downpour.
scour
And I don’t mean my boy Boogie, who knows I’m more likely to be up late reading Octavia Butler or scouring through my collection of Black Panther comics than be hanging out.
deadpan
“I need details if this is gonna work, son. Think of me like family. You can even call me Uncle Marcus. Some kids I work with do.”
“I’ll stick with Marcus,” I deadpan, all business between us.
insinuation
He’s saying this because I treat him like the probation officer he is, and he’s offended at any insinuation of law enforcement.
detention
“The judge approved community service for his detention with a required electronic monitor. He has to charge it every day for two hours.”
restitution
“He can work, or is it only free labor at the pool house?” Grandpa doesn’t break eye contact with Marcus after practically calling my service requirement slavery.
“Five hours a week is the agreement, plus restitution.”
liberal
And even if he does let me, there’s a little part of me that fears the pool would empty at the sight of me doing laps with an ankle monitor. Liberal whites’ façade be damned.
facade
And even if he does let me, there’s a little part of me that fears the pool would empty at the sight of me doing laps with an ankle monitor. Liberal whites’ façade be damned.
defer
The bass in Grandpa’s voice picks up, claiming Alpha. I’m his son as far as he’s concerned. And he doesn’t like anybody monitoring me but him. Even my dad defers to Grandpa.
faze
Marcus nods before going over more rules. I pretend I’m not fazed.
blowout
When Mr. Whitaker’s adopted daughter, Sierra, begged me to go with her and her biological brother, Eric, it was because she didn’t trust he would keep out of trouble at Paul Chase’s New Year’s blowout.
accomplice
Even if I ratted on Eric and Gavin, I was still going down as an accomplice.
ebb
“It ebbs and flows. You know how he is, getting lost in work.”
relentless
She’s direct and always on the lookout. You can’t get anything past her. She’s relentless at getting her way.
contend
Now, I’ll have to contend with reality.
platform
After Mr. Whitaker got involved with my case, it inspired him to run for a city commissioner seat. His platform pushes for changes in the justice system.
tentatively
“I’ll leave one for you if you want.” He tentatively touches the sign.
striking
From afar there’s nothing that distinguishes one photo from the next, but if you know their personalities, it’s striking.
banter
I take in all their sibling banter as they float around the spacious kitchen.
gorge
Food has been so constant today, I have to force myself not to gorge, remembering I won’t be rationed and on a clock anymore.
sheer
I resist from sheer will and sit back to watch.
mediator
Brian always chooses Kate. Eric always chooses Sierra. And Luis is in the middle of them all, so he flops between the two sets of siblings. The mediator.
beeline
I wave my hand up giving deuces, then pull the hood of my sweatshirt over my head and make a beeline for the door, but not before hearing Sierra say, “Not funny. You didn’t have to rub it in.”
waft
I keep expecting Bobby to be at my left, with his mouth drooling and funk wafting my way.
falter
“I had a bad dream is all.” This is the first time I’ve let myself falter in front of her. During detention visits I didn’t want to add to the worry already laced in her eyes.
convulse
As soon as Mom wraps her arms around me, a heavy sob erupts. My chest convulses, heaving in and out between bursts of saying how I’m happy to see her.
haphazardly
I keep my eyes down, haphazardly moving my eggs around with my fork as I wait for his answer.
affiliation
“You changed your affiliation so you could vote for him in the primaries,” Grandma J says.
assess
I wave at her sarcastically, then assess the damage.
explicitly
Until I explicitly ask, beg, or plead, he’ll keep all the juicy details to himself.
distinguishable
“I mean, Paul ‘No Personality’ Chase?” Paul is vanilla plain. There’s not one distinguishable thing about him or his whole crew, including his sidekick Gavin.
humble
I’m sure she’ll recognize your humble ways as charming when you start pining after her again.
pine
“Pine? Who’s pining?” If I hadn’t been arrested, we’d be together by now.
dispensary
I’m King of Distractions, so I switch up our conversation by pointing out the organic dog food store sandwiched between two different vegan-related shops.
“Don’t forget these popping up everywhere.” Boogie points to a dispensary.
naive
Eric just went along with everything he did because he’s naive.
encroach
These were made of wooden blocks and fiberboard walls that were protected from flooding by dikes—until they weren’t. The mural documents the history. Water rising, encroaching on homes and washing them all away.
redline
In real life, refuge was found in the redlined Albina district in Northeast Portland, but for the mural’s sake, it’s the entrance to Malcolm’s Bookshop.
aesthetic
I finally take a deep breath, ready to be greeted by hand-carved African wooden doors with the engraved word Karibuni. A yellow flyer taped to the door mars the aesthetics.
appeal
“The visuals of Portland flooding Black residents don’t appeal to white liberal guilt buying property in Northeast?”

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