Room to Dream: Chapters 24–38

by Kelly Yang
In this third book of the Front Desk series, seventh-grader Mia Tang and her parents return from a vacation to discover that they are in danger of losing the Calivista Motel.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–23, Chapters 24–38, Chapters 39–58
30 words 53 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. theorem
    a proposition deducible from basic postulates
    For the next half hour, my mom tried to teach us the Pythagorean theorem. Except every time she said Pythagorean, she kept mispronouncing it as the pathetic theorem.
  2. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    “The pathetic theorem is one of the most important theorems you’ll ever learn,” Mom went on, oblivious.
  3. weather
    face and withstand with courage
    Even if it meant weathering Bethany’s jokes for an entire year, I should have stood up for my mom.
  4. determination
    firmness of purpose
    The determination in her eyes knocked the breath out of me.
  5. unqualified
    not meeting the proper standards and requirements
    “They must have thought I was totally unqualified. That I was such a fool.”
  6. exclusive
    not divided or shared with others
    Mrs. Davis can't help my dad clean anymore because the Magna made her agency promise they'd be exclusive to the Magna.
  7. nostalgia
    a longing for something past
    He offered me a bagel chip, and I took it. It reminded me a bit of the jianbingguozi in China, and my tummy filled with nostalgia.
  8. defiantly
    in a rebellious manner
    “Jason,” I said, staring defiantly into his eyes. “I don’t like you like that. I’ve been trying to tell you. For years.”
  9. forlorn
    marked by or showing hopelessness
    My dad took in my forlorn face.
  10. acquire
    come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
    “An interesting offer has come in from a company called Vacation Resorts,” he said. “They’re interested in acquiring us.”
  11. sophisticated
    having worldly knowledge and refinement
    They have big plans to turn the Calivista into a boutique hotel for young, sophisticated travelers.
  12. compassion
    a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering
    “I’d much rather work for a place that treats staff with compassion.”
  13. pore
    direct one's attention on something
    At his seat, Jason was poring over his own papers.
  14. rhombus
    a parallelogram with four equal sides
    Walking out of Mrs. Beadle’s class, I tried not to think about the fact that half my answers had been guesses, or that I had no idea what a rhombus was. It sounded like a type of dance that the old folks in the Beijing park did.
  15. suppress
    control and refrain from showing
    I suppressed a chuckle.
  16. flowery
    marked by elaborate rhetoric and elaborated with details
    The imagery and details and flowery language—it was so beautiful. No wonder Ms. Swann made him Most Creative Writer.
  17. mahogany
    a reddish-brown wood commonly used to make furniture
    I leaned forward, folding my hands on the mahogany conference table.
  18. innovate
    bring something new to an environment
    As he proceeded to explain all the ways in which Vacation Resorts would modernize and innovate our motel, turning it into a high-end boutique hotel, I could see that our investors were impressed.
  19. asset
    a valuable item that someone owns
    Normally when we acquire an asset, we bring in our own professional management team to run it.
  20. elaborate
    marked by complexity and richness of detail
    I couldn’t help but compare my own simple words to his elaborate prose.
  21. prose
    ordinary writing as distinguished from verse
    I couldn’t help but compare my own simple words to his elaborate prose.
  22. masquerade
    pretend to be someone or something that you are not
    As I was reading, I felt like one of the used beater cars we have in our parking lot, masquerading as a real customer’s car.
  23. obsess
    be preoccupied with something
    And I had to stop obsessing over Da-Shawn!
  24. waver
    be unsure or weak
    But my smile wavered when I looked at Jason’s sad face.
  25. frank
    characterized by directness in manner or speech
    “Since when do you want to be a French pastry chef?”
    “Since his teacher at the academy said he showed real promise,” Mrs. Yao said proudly. “Frankly, I’m relieved. The margins on French pastries are a lot higher than noodles.”
  26. margin
    the net sales minus the cost of goods and services sold
    The margins on French pastries are a lot higher than noodles.
  27. discreet
    not easily noticeable
    As Mom went to find frozen stir-fry sesame chicken for Dad, I grabbed a box of lasagna and put it discreetly in the cart. I was working on a secret idea for getting my parents their date night back.
  28. flank
    be located at the sides of something or somebody
    I stared up at the building, flanked by palm trees too perfect-looking to be real.
  29. upscale
    relating or appealing to wealthy or high-status consumers
    The local bowling alley where Jason got his first strike got turned into an upscale apartment building.
  30. behemoth
    someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful
    We have to face facts...they’re a behemoth with way deeper pockets than us! We’re an ant just waiting to be squished!
Created on Mon Dec 12 10:50:17 EST 2022 (updated Thu Feb 09 15:04:25 EST 2023)

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