Rez Dogs: Chapters 1–5

by Joseph Bruchac
In this novel in verse, a girl befriends a stray dog while quarantining with her grandparents on a Wabanaki reservation during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–15
20 words 401 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. erect
    upright in position or posture
    It wasn’t sleeping,
    its head was up,
    its ears erect,
    its paws in front of it
    as if on guard.
  2. reservation
    a district that is set aside for a particular purpose
    The dogs on any reservation,
    they have their own lives.
  3. quizzically
    in a questioning manner
    Malsum looked up
    quizzically, as if
    asking why he
    had been left out.
  4. plead
    appeal or request earnestly
    “Because we need help,”
    Darrell pleaded.
  5. strain
    cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious
    Darrell’s voice
    was strained.
  6. snarl
    make an angry, sharp, or abrupt noise
    And your big dog
    is here snarling
    at the base of the tree,
    jumping up at us
    and growling
    like a werewolf!
  7. pandemic
    an outbreak of disease that is geographically widespread
    “At night
    in the middle
    of a pandemic?”
  8. muffled
    being or made softer or less loud or clear
    There was a long pause
    and she could hear
    a muffled sound like grumbling
    from the Muskrateers,
    probably muffled
    because Darrell
    had his hand
    over his phone.
  9. resign
    accept as inevitable
    “Oh-kay,” Darrell
    finally sighed
    in a resigned voice.
  10. icon
    a symbol in a graphical user interface
    She tapped the icon again.
  11. frustrating
    discouraging by hindering
    It was so frustrating
    trying to do
    anything online
    here on the rez.
  12. narrow-minded
    lacking tolerance of or openness to other people's ideas
    Back in Boston,
    she was always
    one of the first
    to hand in
    her assignments.
    Her dad had taught her
    that was one way
    to avoid being seen
    by narrow-minded people
    as a “lazy Indian.”
  13. envy
    feel desirous of another's advantages
    She loved her grandparents,
    but kind of envied
    those kids stuck
    with moms and dads.
  14. lard
    soft white semisolid fat obtained from pigs
    It was made
    of white flour
    and lard and sugar
  15. commodity
    any good that can be bought and sold
    commodity goods,
    the meager rations
    the United States
    government provided
    to honor the treaties
    her people had been
    forced to sign
    in which
    they gave up
    most of their land.
  16. meager
    deficient in amount or quality or extent
    commodity goods,
    the meager rations
    the United States
    government provided
    to honor the treaties
    her people had been
    forced to sign
    in which
    they gave up
    most of their land.
  17. ration
    a fixed portion that is allotted
    commodity goods,
    the meager rations
    the United States
    government provided
    to honor the treaties
    her people had been
    forced to sign
    in which
    they gave up
    most of their land.
  18. unfit
    below the required standards for a purpose
    How when she was little
    social services
    people took her
    away from her parents—
    saying they were unfit.
  19. ironic
    displaying incongruity between what is expected and what is
    The ironic thing,
    Malian thought,
    about her mom being
    taken away,
    is that it was
    almost the same
    as what happened
    to her grandparents.
  20. purgatory
    a temporary condition of torment or suffering
    Her mother had told her
    that foster care
    was like purgatory,
    someplace
    with no address
    and stuck
    in between
    heaven and hell.
Created on Tue Dec 21 08:19:54 EST 2021 (updated Mon Dec 27 08:50:17 EST 2021)

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