Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe: Part Two

by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Aristotle and Dante are two teenagers with classical names and loner attitudes. When their paths cross, they develop a friendship that will change their lives.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. equilibrium
    a sensory system that registers the orientation of the head
    When I tried to get up, I had no balance, no equilibrium, and the room spun around and around.
  2. aspirin
    a medication used to treat pain, fever, and inflammation
    I looked up and saw my mom standing in front of me, holding out two aspirin, a glass of water.
  3. shiver
    shake, as from cold
    I couldn’t stop shivering.
  4. predicament
    an unpleasant or difficult situation
    My mom’s solution to my predicament was to make me drink gallons of water—one painful glass at a time.
  5. flush
    rinse, clean, or empty with a liquid
    “That’s good,” she said, “You’re flushing your system out.”
  6. hostage
    a prisoner held to insure that another party will meet terms
    “I’m being held hostage.”
  7. responsible
    worthy of or requiring trust; held accountable
    “I’ll tell you a secret. I’m not responsible for whether my students care or don’t care. That care has to come from them—not me.”
  8. fascist
    an adherent of right-wing authoritarian views
    “Thanks to you, I know all about the different forms of government. Mussolini was a fascist. Franco was a fascist. And Dad says Reagan is a fascist.”
  9. literally
    in a sense limited to explicit meaning
    “Don’t take your father’s jokes too literally, Ari. All he’s saying is that he thinks President Reagan is too heavy-handed.”
  10. rebel
    take part in an uprising; renounce a former allegiance
    There were days when I wished I had it in me to rebel against my mother’s rules.
  11. accusation
    an assertion that someone is guilty of a fault or offense
    I wanted to hate her for that accusation.
  12. donate
    give to a charity or good cause
    “I donated them to the poor.”
  13. fragile
    easily broken or damaged or destroyed
    Being sick made me feel fragile, like I might break.
  14. self-conscious
    excessively aware of your appearance or behavior
    I felt nervous and awkward and self-conscious and uncomfortable.
  15. inanimate
    not endowed with life
    He’d captured the afternoon light streaming into the room, the way the shadows fell on the chair and gave it depth and made it appear as if it was something more than an inanimate object.
  16. solitary
    not growing or living in groups or colonies
    There was something sad and solitary about the sketch and I wondered if that’s the way he saw the world or if that’s the way he saw ray world.
  17. insist
    be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge
    I’d insisted to myself and to my parents that all the boys there were rich.
  18. scholarship
    financial aid provided to a student on the basis of merit
    My mom argued that they gave scholarships to smart boys.
  19. disciplined
    exhibiting self-control and obeying the rules
    But I was never disciplined about the whole thing.
  20. confront
    deal with head on
    So I decided to confront my sisters because I just didn’t like being thought of that way.
  21. disrespectful
    exhibiting lack of regard; rude and discourteous
    “I hate that word. Don’t talk that way. That’s so disrespectful.”
  22. qualified
    meeting the proper standards and requirements for a task
    Talking to myself in my journal qualified as talking to someone my own age.
  23. fellowship
    money granted for advanced study or research
    “She was really smart and she worked her way through college and then she got some kind of fellowship to go to graduate school at Berkeley. And that’s where she met my dad."
  24. psychologist
    a specialist in the science of mental life
    "My mom was turning herself into a psychologist. My dad was turning himself into an English professor."
  25. input
    a statement that expresses a personal opinion
    And I hated that, fought her on that, didn’t want her input.
  26. betray
    deliver to an enemy by treachery
    It made me mad that I’d felt like I’d betrayed my family by mentioning my brother to Dante.
  27. reflex
    an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus
    My mom says my reflexes are trying to keep up with the fact that I’m growing so much.
  28. aspire
    have an ambitious plan or a lofty goal
    "Is that something I should aspire to?”
  29. arrogant
    having or showing feelings of unwarranted importance
    “Don’t be so sure, you arrogant son of a bitch.”
  30. swerve
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    That’s the last thing I remember before the car swerved around the corner.
Created on Mon Sep 18 11:36:31 EDT 2017 (updated Fri Oct 06 16:24:22 EDT 2017)

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