The First Rule of Punk: Chapters 20–38

by Celia C. Pérez
Twelve-year-old Malú loves punk rock, but her mother and the strict principal at her new school definitely do not. With the help of her fellow "misfits," Malú fights to express who she truly is.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–19, Chapters 20–38
40 words 156 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. grate
    make a grinding sound by rubbing together
    But croaking seemed to work great with the grating, mismatched sounds that came from the instruments behind me.
  2. formality
    a requirement of etiquette or custom
    “The auditions are just a formality. Everyone gets into the talent show.”
  3. swivel
    turn on a pivot
    Mr. Jackson swiveled back and forth.
  4. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    “Excuse me, but did I just hear you quit, punk rock girl?” Ellie asked. Her brow furrowed, and she stared at me intently.
  5. oxymoron
    conjoined contradictory terms
    “It’s an oxymoron,” Mr. Hidalgo said, and laughed.
  6. guffaw
    laugh boisterously
    She shook her head and laughed. No, she guffawed. I remembered that word from a vocabulary list last year.
  7. boisterous
    noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline
    Señora Oralia’s laugh was loud and boisterous from deep in her belly like it had been stored there, waiting for this specific moment.
  8. lenient
    not strict
    “We asked the administration to reconsider the dress code and be a little more lenient,” Mrs. Hidalgo went on, ignoring Señora Oralia and Joe.
  9. delinquent
    guilty of a misdeed
    “Same thing,” Señora Oralia said with a shrug. “The police called me to come get my delinquent daughter.”
  10. declarative
    relating to an explicit statement or announcement
    “You don’t like to speak Spanish,” Señora Oralia said. It was not so much a question as a declarative statement.
  11. hearty
    showing warm and sincere friendliness
    Señora Oralia let out another hearty guffaw and shook her head as if she couldn’t believe what she was telling us.
  12. scandalous
    giving offense to moral sensibilities
    “So you want us to crash the Fall Fiesta talent show?” Ellie asked, like I’d just made the most scandalous announcement ever.
  13. disqualify
    declare unfit
    “There was nothing on the audition flyer about the talent show disqualifying certain types of acts, right?” I asked.
  14. oppression
    the state of being kept down by unjust use of authority
    “And punk means standing up for what you believe in. Just like Joe’s mom. And like Poly Styrene, who wore plastic bags to protest consumer culture, and Joe Strummer, who wrote songs against war and oppression, and—”
    By now I was out of my chair, pacing by our table.
  15. reciprocate
    act, feel, or give mutually or in return
    In “Soy infeliz,” Lola B’s deep, strong voice sang of love that wasn’t reciprocated.
  16. curriculum
    an integrated course of academic studies
    “But I’ve been at Posada since kindergarten. My parents applied because it has a curriculum that will prepare me to complete a high school IB program. Which will look—”
    “Great on a college application,” I finished for her.
  17. beeline
    the most direct route
    Joe placed a plate of conchas in the middle of the table just as Benny came in and made a beeline for our table.
  18. cryptic
    having a secret or hidden meaning
    “I know what you’re up to, María Luisa,” she whispered cryptically.
  19. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    She gave me a smug smile.
  20. busybody
    a person who meddles in the affairs of others
    As I walked toward the cafeteria, I felt angry at everyone: Joe for leaving the flyer in the copier, Selena for being such a busybody and giving the flyer to Principal Rivera, Principal Rivera for not letting us perform, or Mom for bringing me to this place.
  21. pry
    be nosey
    “Okay, Malú, I’m not going to pry, but—”
    “I thought you said you weren’t going to pry.”
  22. resplendent
    having great beauty
    “It’s the resplendent quetzal,” I said, shifting my weight from one foot to another.
  23. incense
    a substance that produces a fragrant odor when burned
    You just need a few things.
    photos
    favorite foods
    personal items
    sugar skulls
    incense (copal)
  24. maestro
    an artist of consummate skill
    “Yes, maestro,” Joe said.
  25. invoke
    request earnestly; ask for aid or protection
    I knew it was bad when Mom got religious and invoked the Virgin Mary.
  26. spare
    save or relieve from an experience or action
    While her lemon-yellow skirt was spared, the doll attached to it was not as lucky.
  27. assess
    estimate the nature, quality, ability or significance of
    After assessing the floor situation, I had to agree with Mom.
  28. trickle
    run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream
    Rivers of green trickled down.
  29. eddy
    a miniature whirlpool or whirlwind
    They mixed with the water and swirled at the bottom of the tub like little green eddies before being rushed down the drain.
  30. condensation
    atmospheric moisture that has changed from a gas
    I wiped condensation from the mirror and looked at myself.
  31. crest
    a showy growth of feathers or skin on the head of an animal
    Blue-green feathers on wings, tail, and crest and scarlet feathers on its breast.
  32. cardigan
    a knitted sweater that can be fastened up the front
    I’d changed back into the outfit I’d picked out for Fall Fiesta and thrown on an old oversized red cardigan that belonged to Dad.
  33. cascade
    rush down in big quantities
    I looked at her sitting there, long hair cascading over her shoulders.
  34. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    Selena sauntered up, and her eyes got wide as she looked at my hair.
  35. hypnotic
    attracting and holding interest as if by a spell
    The hypnotic whirl of the cotton candy machine helped keep my full-on panic about our secret show at bay.
  36. mortified
    made to feel uncomfortable because of shame or wounded pride
    If this was a movie, she would have broken a heel and run off the stage, mortified.
  37. clammy
    unpleasantly cool and humid
    The four of us piled our hands together. Mine wasn’t the only clammy one.
  38. apparently
    seemingly; as far as one can tell
    “Actually, we didn’t get in because we were too loud. And because we played a punk rock song, and punk apparently has nothing to do with this celebration of Posada, the school or the person.”
  39. rendition
    a performance of a musical composition or a dramatic role
    And then we launched into the fastest and loudest rendition of “Cielito Undo” anyone at Posada Middle School—and probably the world—had ever heard.
  40. ventriloquist
    a performer who projects the voice into a wooden dummy
    One pretended to be a ventriloquist while the other one was the dummy.
Created on Tue Jul 24 14:12:04 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Jul 24 16:31:29 EDT 2018)

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