The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling: Chapters 14–21

by Wai Chim
Anna Chiu is a high-schooler who tries to hold her family together as her mother struggles with mental illness.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Mom–Chapter 4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–13, Chapters 14–21, Chapter 22–Mom
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. dismay
    fear resulting from the awareness of danger
    “What? What happened to Rory?” I cry in dismay.
  2. harrow
    cause to feel distress
    But I remember that harrowed look on his face as he left me at the door last night.
  3. laden
    filled with a great quantity
    I’m moping in the kitchen, cleaning up the breakfast dishes, when Ma comes home, her arms laden down with shopping.
  4. teeming
    abundantly filled with especially living things
    Darling Harbour is teeming with stroller-pushing families and tourists, dressed in everything from T-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops to light sweaters and flowing saris.
  5. sidle
    move unobtrusively or furtively
    I sidle up beside him in the semi-darkness.
  6. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    Lily materializes beside us, tugging on my sleeve.
  7. stifle
    conceal or hide
    Ma pouts like a child, and I can’t stifle my teasing smile as I stroke her arm in sympathy.
  8. seethe
    be in an agitated emotional state
    I seethe a little and watch him hug her back, his arms wrapping familiarly around her curvy body in its short black tank top.
  9. subdued
    quieted and brought under control
    Things are more subdued this time around, including the crowd.
  10. chaste
    morally pure
    Nothing happened afterward; he dropped me off after the event and gave me a reasonably chaste kiss.
  11. sate
    fill to contentment
    I don’t see him lots, but I feel him with me, all the time. It leaves me warm and sated inside.
  12. solidarity
    a union of interests or purposes among members of a group
    I want to reach a hand out, to let her know I’m here, but I know better than to show any outward solidarity with my sister.
  13. paramount
    more important than anything else; supreme
    But I know it appeals to her best self, the knowns in her life where filial piety and respect are paramount.
  14. frugal
    avoiding waste
    But she’s frugal at heart and has never broken anything of value.
  15. proffer
    present for acceptance or rejection
    I stiffen my back and limbs, refusing to give in to her proffered blanket of comfort.
  16. cathartic
    emotionally purging
    Her words have a cathartic effect on me, like soft feathers stroking my cheek.
  17. bluster
    be gusty, as of wind
    Lily comes storming out of our room, a gale blowing through our kitchen. She blusters past without a hello, good morning, or goodbye, heading straight for the door.
  18. impassive
    having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
    “Earth, my likeness,
    Though you look so impassive, ample and spheric there.”
  19. hypothesize
    believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
    “There are many who hypothesize that Whitman may have suffered bipolar disorder,” Mr. Murray adds.
  20. don
    put on clothes
    He’s donned aviators and is sporting a leather jacket, carrying a single red rose.
  21. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    I clamber in and wrestle with the seat belt as Rory goes to the other side.
  22. lattice
    framework consisting of an ornamental wood or metal design
    We join the lanes of cars crossing the Harbour Bridge. I crane my neck skyward to watch the thick iron lattice pass overhead.
  23. evasive
    deliberately vague or ambiguous
    “It’s a secret.” He grins playfully and despite the tingling sensations in my stomach, I don’t like that he’s being so evasive.
  24. cul de sac
    a street with only one way in or out
    We’re in a cul-de-sac in some residential neighborhood north of the bridge.
  25. guttural
    relating to or articulated in the throat
    And this time, I kiss him back, and he lets out a guttural moan and deepens the kiss.
  26. emanate
    proceed or issue forth, as from a source
    My whole body is buzzing, emanating from my chest.
  27. swathe
    an enveloping cloth or bandage
    My heart is thundering, and I feel a heavy pressure through my chest, like I’m caught in a swathe of bodies.
  28. tepid
    moderately warm
    Rory pulls out a mangy bottle of water from somewhere. It’s tepid and a little slimy, but I drink.
  29. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    And I tell him everything. Ma staying in bed. Her outbursts. Lily’s exam. Michael. Everything I can muster, but it’s all bits and blurts and incoherent sentences.
  30. coherence
    logical, orderly, and consistent relation of parts
    Rory drops his head as I sob uncontrollably, giving up on coherence.
  31. spindly
    long, thin, and often weak or fragile
    He wraps his spindly limbs around me, and I hold on for dear life.
  32. rivet
    direct one's attention on something
    Their eyes are riveted to the far wall.
  33. grisly
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    The sounds of sirens cut through the commotion and flashing ambulance lights cast an eerie red glow over the grisly scene before us.
  34. gurney
    a metal stretcher with wheels
    Two EMTs take Ma away on a gurney, her arms and legs pinned down.
  35. ashen
    pale from illness or emotion
    Baba just stares, his face ashen.
  36. maim
    injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration
    This is true—I’d never seen her pull a live fish out of an aquarium and maim it in front of a whole crowd of strangers.
  37. catatonic
    characterized by unresponsiveness or lack of movement
    Baba leaves the hospital with me but doesn’t say a word the entire trip home, stuck in a catatonic state.
  38. devoid
    completely wanting or lacking
    In my sixteen years of being, I have not once seen my father cry. I didn’t think that he could; he’s always so stiff and devoid of emotion.
  39. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    He’s the same now with the tears—his head shakes, his back heaves, and he lets out dark, billowy wails of sorrow.
  40. fruitless
    unproductive of success
    But telling someone not to cry is as fruitless as telling a boiling kettle not to whistle.
Created on Fri Mar 11 09:07:24 EST 2022 (updated Fri Apr 01 14:27:50 EDT 2022)

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