Sisters in the Wind: Part Four

by Angeline Boulley
This novel follows Ojibwe teenager Lucy Smith as she faces the horrors of her past in the foster system.

This list covers vocabulary from Part Four.

Here are links to our lists for the book:

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five.
15 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. nuance
    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
    My dad might have seen her bluntness as rudeness, but it worked well with Bruce because he didn’t get nuance or hints.
  2. inheritance
    something that passes by law to an heir of the owner
    I think she was always planning to regift you and blow through your inheritance.
  3. mandolin
    a stringed instrument related to the lute
    “All you hear is Eddie Vedder playing mandolin and singing. Like a fancy foreign movie, but the language is music.”
  4. feign
    give a false appearance of
    I decided to feign ignorance about Missus’s lie.
  5. unilaterally
    by means of one part or party
    And she unilaterally decided to reassign the chore of cleaning their private apartment from Lexi to me.
  6. prenatal
    occurring or existing before birth
    I followed all the recommendations on the handouts my medical provider gave me at the end of each prenatal appointment.
  7. subservient
    compliant and obedient to authority
    Another reminded me of the Sterlings with the way the woman acted subservient to the man.
  8. protege
    a person who receives support from an influential patron
    “You want a future for me that Lily didn’t get, and maybe a sister protégé to help with the ICWA work because we know it changes lives.”
  9. exorbitant
    greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation
    By telling her directly, I hoped to keep her from paying exorbitant attorney fees under the guise of it going toward my expenses.
  10. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    Neither Mister nor Missus had commented when I had alphabetized the meager collection months ago.
  11. factoid
    a brief and usually trivial piece of news or information
    He wouldn’t think anything of including it among the random observations and factoids he blurted daily.
  12. abalone
    a large edible marine gastropod with an ear-shaped shell
    “It’s an abalone shell filled with my medicine.”
  13. zealous
    marked by active interest and enthusiasm
    “The word you meant to use was ‘zealous,’” I say.
  14. klutz
    someone who is clumsy
    “I’m such a klutz,” she commented.
  15. hemlock
    branching biennial herb with large leaves and white flowers
    But he’d selected hemlock, which was poisonous.
Created on Mon Mar 09 08:34:45 EDT 2026 (updated Mon Mar 16 12:21:53 EDT 2026)

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