Front Desk: Chapters 28–47

by Kelly Yang
Ten-year-old Mia Tang lives and works at the motel where her immigrant parents are employed. Together, Mia and her family strive to make a better life for themselves — and for other immigrants in their community.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–18, Chapters 19–27, Chapters 28–47, Chapters 48–67
30 words 567 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. prosperity
    the condition of having good fortune
    Chinese people believe that if you receive eight dollars, it’s good luck.That’s because the word for the number eight, ba, rhymes with the word for “prosperity,” fa.
  2. thesaurus
    a book containing a classified list of synonyms
    It wasn’t just a dictionary either; it had something called a thesaurus too. A thesaurus, Mrs. T said, was a list of words that meant the same thing as other words.
  3. vigorously
    in an energetic manner
    “Eggplant,” the woman said, emphasizing the t so vigorously she was practically spitting on my mom.
  4. scald
    heat to the boiling point
    Anger brewed inside me, scalding hot.
  5. hospice
    a program of medical care for the terminally ill
    At dinner, Uncle Zhu told us he had been working as a janitor in a hospice.
    “What’s a hospice?” I asked.
    “It’s...” He thought for a minute about how to put it. “It’s basically a waiting room.”
  6. concoction
    any foodstuff made by combining different ingredients
    Stinky tofu paste was this disgusting concoction you could buy at the Chinese supermarket, which she ate whenever she’d “been through a lot.”
  7. stationery
    paper cut to an appropriate size for writing letters
    He pressed open the door of a stationery shop. The store was called Scribbles and I could tell it was fancy just from the way it smelled.
  8. earnest
    devout or heartfelt
    He looked so innocent and earnest and at the same time so ridiculous, I just had to help him.
  9. idiom
    expression whose meaning cannot be inferred from its words
    I tried to be as detailed as possible and put in as many phrases, gestures, and idioms as I could think of.
  10. tier
    a relative position or degree of value in a graded group
    He explained that when it came to candy, there were multiple tiers—at the Top Tier, you have your full-sized candy bars, followed by your mints (Junior Mints, Peppermint Patties, etc.), and, all the way down at the Bottom Tier, lollipops and that sort of thing.
  11. manic
    affected with or marked by frenzy uncontrolled by reason
    She stared at me with this manic look in her eyes.
  12. bate
    moderate or restrain; lessen the force of
    I put my hand down and waited with bated breath for him to finish.
  13. drone
    talk in a monotonous voice
    Jason droned on about how big his factories were and how many T-shirts and umbrella stands they made every year.
  14. frantically
    in an uncontrolled manner
    I waved my hand frantically so that Mrs. Douglas could see what an emergency this was.
  15. feign
    give a false appearance of
    Jason, expert faker that he was, feigned shock and outrage.
  16. register
    be aware of
    With her shivering hands, she touched her stomach, then stared at her fingertips, blinking in disbelief as she registered the color.
  17. concussion
    injury to the brain caused by a blow
    She had a mild concussion, and the doctor gave her painkillers and bandages for the bleeding (which thankfully was just on the outside, not the inside).
  18. exasperated
    greatly annoyed; out of patience
    “No insurance?” the nurses asked exasperatedly.
  19. empathy
    understanding and entering into another's feelings
    As we explained our insuranceless situation to him, he looked like he had about as much empathy as a LEGO.
  20. waive
    do without or cease to hold or adhere to
    “We’ll only waive the hospital bills if you make less than the federal poverty income guideline for a family of three,” he said.
  21. technically
    according to the exact meaning; according to the facts
    We put down $0, because technically, we got free board living in the manager’s quarters.
  22. categorical
    not modified or restricted by reservations
    There it was, clear as day, how categorically poor we were.
  23. adrenaline
    hormone secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress
    I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt, handing over my ziplock bag. All those nights I stayed up secretly counting the money with a flashlight, the adrenaline and excitement coursing through me.
  24. disheveled
    in disarray; extremely disorderly
    Just as we were about to head out, Hank came limping back, wearing the same clothes as yesterday, his hair a disheveled mess.
  25. adamant
    impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, or reason
    He was adamant about finding another job.
  26. parole
    a conditional release from imprisonment
    Her attackers were ex-convicts who had skipped out on their parole.
  27. forge
    make a copy of with the intent to deceive
    As I was forging Hank’s signature, I felt a teeny tiny bit bad. Was what I was doing wrong? What if I got caught?
  28. fret
    worry unnecessarily or excessively
    As I fretted over what to do, I glanced over at my math textbook and thought of my mom.
  29. toil
    work hard
    Month after excruciating month, they put up with long hours, toiling away in a hot kitchen with virtually no pay.
  30. virtually
    in essence or in effect but not in fact
    Month after excruciating month, they put up with long hours, toiling away in a hot kitchen with virtually no pay.
Created on Tue Jan 29 12:12:50 EST 2019 (updated Tue Jan 29 12:41:22 EST 2019)

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