The Red Car to Hollywood: Chapters 6–12

by Jennie Liu
The year is 1924, and 16-year-old Ruby Chan is struggling with the expectations placed on her as a young Chinese American woman. When her relationship with a young white man is revealed and Ruby's father decides to marry her to a Chinese man, Ruby decides to take her life into her own hands.

Here are links to our lists for the book:
Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–12, Chapters 13–17, Chapters 18–22, Chapters 23–27, Chapters 28–34.
15 words 18 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    Danny and Joe chattered, quibbled, and stuffed their mouths, oblivious to the tension in the air. We finished eating and cleaned up.
  2. indecorous
    lacking propriety and good taste in manners and conduct
    I couldn’t change until the others were already in bed because Ba thought it indecorous for anyone to see me in my nightclothes.
  3. unfettered
    not bound or restrained, as by shackles and chains
    The noises only made me remember more: the times I’d been out there, feeling unfettered in the city that was mine as much as anyone else’s.
  4. portico
    porch or entrance to a building consisting of a covered area
    They loitered under the portico at the top of the wide steps.
  5. chew the fat
    talk socially without exchanging too much information
    “We did. And I wish I had time to chew the fat again, but my brother and I are going out to buy a typewriter.”
  6. admonishment
    a firm rebuke
    I wanted to twist the knobs on the radios and punch at the keys of the typewriters, but the admonishment from the counter girl downstairs made me keep my hands firmly clasped together.
  7. wistful
    showing pensive sadness
    She seemed wistful, almost as if she did have regrets.
  8. pique
    a sudden outburst of anger
    Ba’s mouth worked itself in a sort of contained pique, but he didn’t say anything.
  9. conniption
    a display of bad temper
    I’d almost convinced myself that his summoning of the matchmaker had just been a conniption, that he’d done it purely to scare me straight.
  10. matronly
    befitting or characteristic of a fully mature woman
    Ma always wore her own hair in a low bun, and I’d half expected the hairdo to be matronly like hers.
  11. intoxicating
    extremely exciting
    James made no move to close the space between us, but that intoxicating stirring came over me.
  12. piecework
    labor paid for according to the quantity produced
    Ma used to do piecework herself, but the materials had always been delivered to our home.
  13. imperceptibly
    in a manner that is difficult to discern
    Her eyelids fluttered almost imperceptibly.
  14. propriety
    correct behavior
    You are not here to socialize with the staff or to chitchat with the other operators or customers. Here at Formann’s we adhere to a strict code of propriety.
  15. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    I gave her a tentative smile.
Created on Fri Feb 20 06:56:11 EST 2026 (updated Thu Feb 26 13:45:32 EST 2026)

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