Dream Within a Dream: Prologue–Chapter 6

by Patricia MacLachlan
Eleven-year-old Louisa doesn't love change but explores new ways of looking at life when she visits her grandparents' farm on Deer Island and meets a boy named George.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 6, Chapters 7–11, Chapters 12–18
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. so-called
    doubtful or suspect
    My hair is long and wildly curly like an out-of-control Brillo pad. Look it up if you don’t know what that is. A so-called friend once said, “Too bad about your hair, Louisa.”
  2. anguish
    extreme mental distress
    I am filled with anguish.
  3. sympathy
    sharing the feelings of others, especially sorrow or anguish
    “Tough to be you, Lou,” he says, with sympathy when I complain to him.
  4. linear
    progressing from one stage or idea to the next in sequential order
    “Theo is a linear thinker,” says Jake.
  5. dense
    slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity
    She knows, for instance, that her son—my father—and his wife—my mother—are “dense” about some things even though they’re “disturbingly” intelligent, as she puts it.
  6. ornithologist
    a zoologist who studies feathered animals
    Our parents have plunked Theo and me on the little island for the long summer, as they always do, while they go off to do their bird research. My father is an ornithologist, and my mother is a photographer.
  7. grub
    a soft thick wormlike larva of certain insects
    You haven’t seen anyone more excited than my father over the possible sighting of an ivory-billed woodpecker in some bug-ridden habitat. Or New Caledonian crows, who sometimes make and use tools to catch grubs.
  8. bedlam
    a state of extreme confusion and disorder
    Theo refers to our parents’ summers as “bird bedlam.”
  9. eavesdrop
    listen without the speaker's knowledge
    “I heard something when my parents were talking.”
    Boots nods. She is not shocked that I was eavesdropping.
  10. prance
    move or step in a lively, spirited, or showy way
    Tess prances and dances around them.
  11. poach
    cook in a simmering liquid
    He has lots of toast on the counter and is making his famous poached eggs in his six-cup poached egg pan.
  12. scramble
    move hurriedly
    He tosses bits of toast over his head every so often for Tess. She runs and scrambles and jumps to catch the pieces.
  13. kindred
    similar in quality or character
    “I know that because we’re kindred spirits,” I say.
    He looks sideways at me again. “No. I already have a kindred spirit. I’m your pal, Louisa. When you were a baby and I walked into the room, your eyes lit up. Just seeing me!”
  14. gleaming
    bright with a steady but subdued shining
    Jake is pushing a soft rag over the gleaming black car.
  15. admit
    declare to be true or accept the reality of
    “Then I’ll admit I have never seen anyone with the beautiful red color of your tumbling hair,” says George.
  16. clutch
    a pedal that engages a rotating shaft and driving mechanism
    We drive around the field and the pond, George working the clutch and brake smoothly.
  17. bleary
    tired to the point of exhaustion
    Jake and I go into the kitchen where Theo is drinking orange juice, his eyes bleary from sleep.
  18. bound
    move forward by leaping
    “Forty-eight,” says Theo, bounding up the stairs.
  19. weathered
    worn by exposure to the elements
    George’s house sits on a hill above the water. It has weathered shingles with a porch all around.
  20. shingle
    building material used as siding or roofing
    George’s house sits on a hill above the water. It has weathered shingles with a porch all around.
  21. basil
    edible leaves of an aromatic herb, used fresh or dried
    There is a huge platter of large sliced red tomatoes and basil leaves and thick slices of mozzarella cheese drizzled with oil and vinegar.
  22. contrast
    be different; display differences when compared
    There are gravel paths and plants spread around, their colors contrasting and mingling like paints in a paint box.
  23. iris
    a plant with bright flowers composed of three petals
    There are asters, dahlias, red and yellow irises, and trillium. And flowers I don’t know.
  24. ripple
    stir up so as to form small waves
    A sea breeze comes up and ripples the astilbe blooms.
  25. hatch
    devise or invent
    And I’m hatching a plan.
Created on Mon Jan 30 11:02:45 EST 2023 (updated Thu Mar 23 12:55:37 EDT 2023)

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