The Summer of Bitter and Sweet: Chapters 29–
35

by Jen Ferguson
Named after her Native American mother, eighteen-year-old Louisa Norquay must decide whether she wants to meet her criminal father in order to save her family's ice cream business and pay for an education at Canada's University of Alberta.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–11, Chapters 12–20, Chapters 21–28, Chapters 29–35
30 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. impractical
    not workable
    Her shoes are utterly impractical on gravel.
  2. whimsical
    indulging in or influenced by the imagination
    It’s drawings of plants and herbs Dom finds out on the land, recipes for ice-cream base, and imaginations and thinkings, new flavors and disaster flavors. Sometimes it’s a line that makes no sense, something whimsical about cows or ice cream or life.
  3. stoke
    (of a fire) stir up or tend
    That stokes a fire.
  4. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    After all this time in the tent, I’m accustomed to the din out on the road.
  5. opaque
    not transmitting or reflecting light or radiant energy
    The tent’s purple skin is opaque. I can’t see anything.
  6. meticulous
    marked by extreme care in treatment of details
    Someone takes care of their ride. Someone is meticulous. Or the SUV is new.
  7. articulate
    put into words or an expression
    It’s not until I feel pain that I can articulate it.
  8. piercing
    very perceptive
    She stares him down. It’s the piercing auntie stare. The one nobody can ignore.
  9. contrition
    sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation
    She stares him down like she does. It’s not enough, his contrition.
  10. stark
    devoid of any qualifications or disguise or adornment
    I laugh. It’s stark, almost ugly, echoing off the Subaru, bleeding into the bank of trees behind me.
  11. restitution
    a sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury
    “By the time his family realized he’d probably serve time, that the community was angry he’d hospitalized a sixteen-year-old girl, even a Native one, they started offering me things. To quiet me. To buy me. As if to demonstrate some...restitution before sentencing.”
  12. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    “Don’t pretend you know nothing about this,” Dom chides.
  13. brood
    think moodily or anxiously about something
    It’ll be quiet at work, but we don’t close because it rains. And here, on the prairies, this should be over soon. We’re big thunder and hard rain, but we don’t typically brood in it.
  14. imperative
    requiring attention or action
    He insisted I deliver it. Directly. That it was imperative I handed this to you myself.
  15. draft
    a document ordering the payment of money
    Behind the letter, I find a photocopy of four bank drafts. Each for twenty thousand dollars. Made out to me.
  16. sterile
    deficient in originality or creativity
    The lights are too bright, too sterile. Everything is bathed in yellow, except at the back of the store where one of the fluorescents buzzes and flickers.
  17. reinstate
    bring back into original existence, function, or position
    “We’re applying for a restraining order as a first step. It should be easy enough to convince a judge that the no-contact order should be reinstated in your—in Lou’s—case.”
  18. plume
    anything that resembles a feather in shape or lightness
    Through the kitchen window, a plume of dust rises up behind Tyler’s old two-door beast.
  19. invigorate
    heighten or intensify
    “For Lou to amend her birth certificate. To add his name on the file,” my mom says.
    “And that would invigorate his legal claim to the joint lands if something were to happen to you, Lou,” the lawyer says.
  20. seismic
    subject to or caused by an earthquake or earth vibration
    I shouldn’t be saying anything, but there’s been some talk—among my colleagues—about England planning a development on the land. Nothing solid. But he’s asking questions in the right places, making friendly with operations that conduct seismic mapping.
  21. resigned
    accepting that something unpleasant cannot be changed
    “It’s far enough,” Tyler says, resigned.
  22. pensive
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    Tyler falls quiet, pensive.
  23. untoward
    not in keeping with accepted standards of what is proper
    I like the man. And haven’t heard anything untoward about him either.
  24. arsonist
    a criminal who illegally sets fire to property
    “So that’s what they’re going to find. Underage arsonist with a history of major property damage.”
  25. indict
    accuse formally of a crime
    “Yeah, but arson isn’t a summary offense. It’s indictable and there’s no statute of limitations for those. You and Tyler could go to prison for a really long time.”
  26. statute
    an act passed by a legislative body
    “Yeah, but arson isn’t a summary offense. It’s indictable and there’s no statute of limitations for those. You and Tyler could go to prison for a really long time.”
  27. frenetic
    fast and energetic in an uncontrolled or wild way
    The farm is frenetic. It’s been raining, but Leif sent along a big red-and-white tent. We’ve cleaned out one of the barns. Elise is opening the production studio so we can enjoy the last of this season’s ice cream before we unplug the freezers for another year.
  28. orientation
    a course introducing a new situation or environment
    After that, I’m due at university. A dorm room awaits. I have to buy books and find where I’ll have my lectures. I’m pushing it close. Blowing off orientation for a few more days at home.
  29. excommunicate
    formally oust or exclude from a group
    I’m not going to be mean. But I’m not going to make this easy. He doesn’t deserve easy. But he doesn’t deserve to be excommunicated either.
  30. retaliation
    action taken in return for an injury or offense
    She’s going to hate that I’m not coming back right away. She’s going to think it’s some kind of retaliation—me sacrificing something she knows I want in order to get at her.
Created on Thu Jun 01 11:27:03 EDT 2023 (updated Fri Jun 23 13:39:51 EDT 2023)

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