The Rebel Girls of Rome: Chapters 4–7

by Jordyn Taylor
This multi-timeline novel follows the story of two young women: Lilah, a college student visiting Rome with her grandfather in pursuit of a family secret, and Bruna, a Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied Rome.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–7, Chapters 8–11, Chapters 12–16, Chapters 17–23
15 words 2 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. parapet
    a low wall along the edge of a roof or balcony
    “You’ve been quiet tonight,” he says when we’re alone, standing side by side at the parapet.
  2. impressionable
    easily influenced
    I don’t want to fill Raffa’s impressionable young mind with the kinds of optimistic lies Signorina Bianchi used to tell us.
  3. optimistic
    emphasizing or displaying the positive
    I don’t want to fill Raffa’s impressionable young mind with the kinds of optimistic lies Signorina Bianchi used to tell us.
  4. vitality
    a healthy capacity for vigorous activity
    “Your parents mustn’t worry about coffee being hard to find. We are Italians. We produce our own natural vitality!”
  5. influx
    the process of flowing in
    The influx of great masses of men in historical times is a myth.
  6. careen
    move at high speed and in an uncontrolled way
    My feet flying and my lungs on fire, I careen out onto the Ponte Garibaldi.
  7. dregs
    sediment that has settled at the bottom of a liquid
    He stared into the dregs of his coffee, then squinted out at the rooftops.
  8. aback
    by surprise
    She briefly looks taken aback, but then smiles politely.
  9. magnitude
    relative importance
    Now that I’m finally still and safe, the magnitude of the decision I just made bears down on me.
  10. permeate
    spread or diffuse through
    I mouth the word, willing it to permeate the wardrobe and worm its way into Carla’s brain.
  11. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
    If the neighbor, Maria, sees where the wardrobe has been moved, the ruse is over.
  12. fresco
    a mural done with watercolors on wet plaster
    I find the narrow cobblestone street and make my way to a very old four-story building with remnants of ancient frescoes on the facade.
  13. divot
    a small dent, hollow, or depression in a surface
    I run my palm over the bench beneath me, as though I might find traces of her essence in the bumps and divots in the wood.
  14. thoroughfare
    a public road from one place to another
    We wander up the Via del Portico d’Ottavia, the Jewish quarter’s main thoroughfare, where the patios lining the street are already filling up with customers.
  15. infamous
    known widely and usually unfavorably
    But how else do you explain Bruna leaving the locket for Nonna Carla in 1944, a year after the infamous gold ransom?
Created on Mon Mar 23 06:51:11 EDT 2026 (updated Mon Jun 01 19:03:41 EDT 2026)

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