The Moon Within: List 2

by Aida Salazar
Eleven-year-old Celi faces the challenges of growing up, including crushes, changing relationships with friends, and honoring her family obligations and heritage.

This list covers "First Quarter Moon."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
25 words 34 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. strut
    walk in a proud, confident way
    I take my time
    strut behind him.
  2. quad
    a rectangular area surrounded on all sides by buildings
    At the upper-grade quad
    I see Aurora from far away
  3. lather
    the froth produced by soaps or detergents
    But when the warm water
    falls
    on
    my
    body
    I escape to the land of lather.
  4. tonic
    a medicine that strengthens and invigorates
    Now that I do, I’m going to wait
    until Mima’s whipping up some tonic or on the phone
    to send him our invitation
    in secret.
  5. brisk
    quick and energetic
    I shoot to my feet
    stand next to him
    rub his back briskly
    wishing that I had not
    punched him in the chest!
  6. indigenous
    originating where it is found
    She tells me that
    our indigenous ancestors
    were in tune with natural cycles
  7. lineage
    inherited properties shared with others of your bloodline
    Both of your lineages grant you that gift.
  8. initiate
    accept people into an exclusive society or group
    It was only for a minute at most
    but the entire batey
    clapped with joy
    as I thanked the lead
    drummer with a nod
    and left the circle
    initiated
    and in love.
  9. sift
    check and sort carefully
    Madga and I find out about that
    while sifting through library books
    and putting together our wave display board
    on my living room floor.
  10. conjure
    summon into action or bring into existence
    While Magda conjures details
    my locket spins.
  11. iridescent
    varying in color when seen in different lights
    Her clever lever idea works
    like a mechanical charm
    and my papier-mâché moon
    glows with iridescent paint
    the prettiest Luna you ever saw.
  12. vat
    a large open vessel for holding or storing liquids
    Curious to see our friends’ work
    Magda and I take a walk and visit
    –a tightrope project about balance
    –the five-pound vat of homemade slime
  13. syncopation
    a musical rhythm accenting a normally weak beat
    ...making our communication
    shine above the other drummers,
    stick players, maraca players, and singers
    in what Papi calls
    beautiful Afro-Puerto Rican syncopation.
  14. wax
    increase in phase
    I am Celi waxing
    circling
    shaking my body
    making rhythms of my own
    a release of my heart
    my joy.
  15. ebb
    the outward flow of the tide
    Then that familiar flutter in my panza returns
    and I feel an ebb back to him.
  16. tussle
    disorderly fighting
    My locket is in a tussle
    tattered battered
    but lifted.
  17. pry
    move or force in an effort to get something open
    I fume and instantly throw a Junior Mint at him
    then cover his mouth with my hand.
    Juju pries away my fingers...
  18. insulation
    material reducing transmission of sound, heat or electricity
    ...the fog that rolls across
    the Bay like a wet blanket
    and seeps into these old walls
    with no insulation
  19. punctuate
    stress or single out as important
    the crisp wood floors
    of our little house
    that seems to be more
    alive because of the bold
    teals, reds, mustard yellows
    that punctuate the walls
    in each of the different rooms.
  20. sage
    aromatic fresh or dried gray-green leaves used as seasoning
    A clay bowl of dried white sage branches
    sits at the center.
  21. douse
    immerse briefly into a liquid
    She douses her limbs, her head, her chest
    with the swirling bitter-smelling smoke.
  22. authentic
    not counterfeit or copied
    A real self, an authentic self, the reality always meant to be.
  23. divine
    being or having the nature of a god
    Also born a boy energy into the body of a girl
    it is the wisdom of the sacred masculine placed
    in the body of the divine feminine.
  24. duality
    a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses
    In our ancestral Mexica tradition, Ometeotl
    is our Creator spirit that is neither
    female nor male but both—divine duality.
  25. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    But in Spanglish, our happy mixed-up tongue,
    amifriend has both
    the warm sound of amor in am
    and friend, the sweetest word English can muster.
Created on Wed Mar 31 14:34:34 EDT 2021 (updated Thu Apr 01 16:04:50 EDT 2021)

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