Anger Is a Gift: Chapters 1–7

by Mark Oshiro
After his father is killed, Moss struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. Increasingly frustrated by violence and injustice at his underfunded Oakland high school, he tries to harness his anger to bring about meaningful change in his community.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–14, Chapters 15–21, Chapters 22–28, Chapters 29–39
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. grandiose
    pretentious or excessively fancy
    “I am a man of high taste,” he said in the most grandiose voice he could manage.
  2. swoon
    a spontaneous loss of consciousness
    Esperanza faked a swoon back into her seat.
  3. exasperation
    a feeling of annoyance
    Esperanza sighed again, though her exasperation wasn’t an act this time.
  4. dejection
    a state of melancholy depression
    The dejection that lined Javier’s face disappeared, and it was replaced with a playful grin.
  5. excise
    remove by cutting
    Moss wished he could reach inside of his brain and excise the part of it that tormented him.
  6. reverberate
    ring or echo with sound
    He let go of his bike, heard it clatter against the floor, the echo reverberating in his head.
  7. relent
    give in, as to influence or pressure
    He relented.
  8. haphazardly
    without care; in a slapdash manner
    Moss leaned over and picked up his bike, which had been lying haphazardly on the concrete.
  9. segue
    changing smoothly from one state or situation to another
    “So, I don’t know how to make a good segue here, so I’m just gonna go for this,” he said. “If you’re still interested...you wanna swap numbers?”
  10. erratic
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
    She understood that his ability to socialize after an attack was erratic at times, and she never pushed him to do anything he felt uncomfortable with.
  11. resilient
    recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like
    “Each card is a memory of your father. Now, I know you were young when you lost him, but your mind is resilient, Moss. You still have a lot of him inside of you. More than you think.”
  12. arbiter
    someone chosen to judge and decide a disputed issue
    “If you need to get by, just be a lady and ask someone to move,” he said.
    “I’m glad that you’re now the arbiter of all things ladylike,” she shot back.
  13. expletive
    profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
    As Moss laughed, the man, exasperated, lapsed into a long bout of expletives about what role Esperanza should play.
  14. leverage
    the mechanical advantage gained by a machine on a fulcrum
    “I used a dude’s tie as leverage, though. Totally different thing.”
  15. succinct
    briefly giving the gist of something
    Bits had gotten their nickname solely because of their succinct way of speaking.
  16. stately
    impressive in appearance
    The building must have been a beacon of hope at one time; it was taller than everything else around it, stately, huge.
  17. aesthetic
    a philosophical theory as to what is beautiful
    They called it the “West Oakland aesthetic.”
  18. commission
    charge with a task
    Hull had been commissioned two years earlier to take over the school’s disciplinary measures by their principal, who had sought out some sort of tax break that could save the school money.
  19. balk
    refuse to proceed or comply
    He remembered how his mother’s family had balked at the idea that the police had a permanent presence at school when they’d heard at Thanksgiving the past year.
  20. enamored
    marked by foolish or unreasoning fondness
    Mrs. Torrance was sitting on a desk in the back of the room, chatting with Carmela, a Puerto Rican girl whom Esperanza was deeply enamored with, but who had thus far not returned the feelings.
  21. engrossed
    giving or marked by complete attention to
    Moss turned around, and sure enough, Larry Jackson was engrossed in something on his phone, oblivious to the fact that he had just made a cardinal error in Mrs. Torrance’s class.
  22. cardinal
    serving as an essential component
    Moss turned around, and sure enough, Larry Jackson was engrossed in something on his phone, oblivious to the fact that he had just made a cardinal error in Mrs. Torrance’s class.
  23. modicum
    a small or moderate or token amount
    It wasn’t that Mrs. Torrance was particularly strict. She just expected a modicum of mutual respect from those she taught.
  24. ire
    anger; irritability
    He was tempted to pull out his phone to scroll through his texts again, but he didn’t want to risk Mrs. Torrance’s ire.
  25. disquiet
    a feeling of mild anxiety about possible developments
    It was at this point that the principal lost the attention of the room, and Mrs. Torrance didn’t bother to tame the disquiet of her students.
  26. palpable
    capable of being perceived
    The disappointment on her face was palpable, but it was Moss who wore the most pained expression.
  27. fortitude
    strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity
    “He is but a fragile man, and you know their fortitude is weaker than ours.”
  28. elation
    a feeling of joy and pride
    He let the elation swallow up his anxiety for the rest of the night.
  29. waft
    be driven or carried along, as by the air
    She coughed as a bit of dust wafted up from it.
  30. sidle
    move sideways
    Kaisha sidled up to them. “I can just show you the applications if you want,” she said. “I downloaded them all yesterday just to see what they look like.”
  31. pallid
    lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble
    On the opposite side of the quad sat the senior lockers, pressed up against the wall, the yellowed sun from the skylights casting them in a pallid tone.
  32. dissipate
    cause to separate and go in different directions
    But as he entered his next class, he rode the wave of courage he had before it dissipated.
  33. remiss
    failing in what duty requires
    “I feel like I would be remiss in my parenting if I didn’t bring it up,” she said.
  34. defiantly
    in a rebellious manner
    She stood proudly and defiantly in front of her own name in graffiti, and her signature was down in the bottom right.
  35. exacerbate
    make worse
    One of the fluorescent lights had started flickering halfway through class, exacerbating the pain, and Moss was eager to dart over to his locker and get his medication.
  36. curt
    speaking in a terse, rude, or abrupt way
    Assistant Principal Stephen Jacobs offered a curt smile to Mrs. Torrance, whose head had swung toward him, her beads tinkling again.
  37. rapt
    feeling great delight and interest
    She quickly had the rapt attention of the whole room.
  38. concession
    the act of yielding
    Mr. Jacobs, terror on his face, raised his arms up in a sign of concession, but then lowered them and tried to push everyone away when he saw things spiraling out of control.
  39. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    Students were kicking lockers to add to the din.
  40. welt
    a raised mark on the skin
    She slowly pulled down the front of Shawna’s shirt, exposing a newly formed welt on her brown skin.
Created on Wed Jun 12 09:32:26 EDT 2019 (updated Fri Jun 14 13:49:01 EDT 2019)

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