Wish: Chapters 10–17

by Barbara O'Connor
Every day, Charlie Reese wishes that her fractured family will reunite — but when she is sent to live with her aunt and uncle, she must reconsider what she really wants and needs.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–9, Chapters 10–17, Chapters 18–31
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. niggle
    worry unnecessarily or excessively
    I still had a little niggle about Mama having a hissy fit when I brought him back to Raleigh with me, but I pushed that aside.
  2. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    “Let’s go set up the sprinkler in the garden,” Gus said to me, tugging on his dirty baseball cap. I followed him outside, with three cats sauntering along behind us.
  3. snicker
    laugh quietly
    I hated the thought of another day at school. That awful bus with gum on the seats and kids snickering when I walked by.
  4. gape
    look with amazement
    She flinched a little and gaped at me. “You can’t save seats,” she said. “That’s the rule.”
  5. ramshackle
    in poor or broken-down condition
    After we had banana pudding for a snack, me and Howard went straight back to the ramshackle garage behind his house.
  6. reckon
    expect, believe, or suppose
    “Don’t really know her,” he said. “Only seen her a time or two.”
    “In Raleigh, you mean?”
    “Naw, up yonder at Gus and Bertha’s.” He brushed sawdust off the front of his shirt. “Seems like just yesterday, but I reckon it wasn’t,” he said.
  7. flit
    move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart
    My thoughts kept flitting around all over the place, sometimes thinking about Wishbone and sometimes thinking about Mama being up there at Gus and Bertha’s.
  8. amble
    walk leisurely
    I wondered if Gus was thinking what I was. That it was liable to take him all night to get home with that up-down walk of his. But Gus just stretched and said, “All righty, then,” and ambled off toward the house.
  9. quiver
    shake with fast, tremulous movements
    I shrugged like it was no big deal but my quivering chin must’ve given me away. Bertha knelt in front of me and took both my hands in hers and said, “Your mama loves you very much, Charlie. But sometimes, she just loses her way.”
  10. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    I raced across the yard and slammed the door of the trap shut with a bang. Wishbone let out a yelp and jumped clear up off the ground. Then he slinked back into the corner and hung his head, dragging his ears on the ground.
  11. rustle
    make a dry crackling sound
    That night, I took Wishbone out on the porch with us. Every now and then, he perked his ears up at the sound of a rabbit or something rustling down in the woods. But eventually, he laid down and rested his chin right on top of my foot.
  12. lure
    provoke someone to do something through persuasion
    But I kept a plastic bag full of tiny pieces of cheese and bacon and stuff to lure him along, and after a while, he was trotting right beside me.
  13. ruffle
    disturb the smoothness of
    “That’s a good idea.” Mrs. Odom ruffled my hair. “I’ve got some squirrel pie fresh out of the oven.”
  14. feisty
    showing spirit and courage
    Mrs. Odom put her arm around my shoulder, and when I got up my courage to look at her, she winked at me. “I’m so glad to have a feisty female around here to help me keep these boys under control. I been needing a girl on my team.”
  15. jabber
    talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner
    When I got there, Gus was sitting at the kitchen table while Bertha sliced green peppers from the garden and jabbered about that fancy new drugstore they were building out on Route 26.
  16. engrave
    carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface
    “Well, there they are,” Gus said when he saw me and Wishbone. “A girl and her dog.” Then he reached in his pocket and pulled out something that he held out to me in his palm. A little bone-shaped dog tag with Wishbone engraved on it.
  17. strut
    walk in a proud, confident way
    I strutted up the aisle of the bus and winked at those giggling girls like Jackie’d told me to do.
  18. earthy
    of or consisting of or resembling the soil
    I loved the earthy, mossy smell of the air and the soft tickle of the ferns that bowed down along the edges of the path.
  19. prance
    move or step in a lively, spirited, or showy way
    Howard and I took off our shoes and stepped from rock to rock while Wishbone leaped and pranced, sending up splashes of cold mountain water.
  20. teeter
    move unsteadily, with a rocking motion
    Howard teetered on the slippery rocks and I was sure he was going to fall in any minute, but he didn’t.
  21. scurry
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    He stooped to swish his hand in the water, making the minnows scurry away.
  22. hurtle
    move with or as if with a rushing sound
    “You wished you didn’t have that up-down walk,” I said.
    When those words left my mouth, I could practically see them hurtling through the air toward Howard, quick and sharp, like razors.
  23. grits
    coarsely ground corn that is boiled
    But Bertha said, “You know, sometimes when you’ve had a bad day, eating grits makes you feel better.” She poked me with an elbow. “I know that from experience,” she added.
  24. wispy
    thin and weak
    “Wishbone is gone,” I whispered.
    She nodded and pushed a strand of wispy hair behind her ear. “Gus is out there looking for him,” she said. “And Gus is a man you can count on.”
  25. glimmer
    a slight suggestion or vague understanding
    A teeny-tiny glimmer of feel-better worked its way into my heart. I knew she was right about that. Gus did seem like a man you could count on.
Created on Mon Feb 17 21:37:42 EST 2020 (updated Thu Feb 20 11:20:04 EST 2020)

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