Red, White, and Whole: List 3

by Rajani LaRocca
In this verse novel, 13-year-old Reha grapples with her identity as an Indian-American while trying to cope with her mother’s illness.

This list covers "Hands"–"Always Something There to Remind Me."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
25 words 201 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. intertwine
    spin, wind, or twist together
    He reaches for my hand
    and our fingers intertwine
  2. kin
    group of people related by blood or marriage
    Blood binds us to each other,
    as humans,
    as kin,
    parent to child.
  3. iridescent
    varying in color when seen in different lights
    I let her paint mine an iridescent pink.
  4. acute
    experiencing a rapid onset and short but severe course
    We finally find out what Amma has:
    Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
    Acute, because it happened very recently.
    Myeloid, for the type of white blood cell that’s growing abnormally.
    Leukemia, because the abnormal white cells have spilled into the blood.
  5. tinny
    thin, metallic, and displeasing in sound
    The operator’s voice is tinny like she’s on another planet,
    not just another country.
  6. ceaseless
    uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing
    Daddy doesn’t cry,
    but his pursed lips
    tired eyes
    ceaseless pacing
    are worse to see than tears.
  7. chutney
    a spicy relish usually made with fruit, vinegar, and spices
    But we celebrate
    with our Indian friends.
    With spicy pulao and tart cranberry chutney,
    samosas, stuffed parathas,
    aloo chole,
    and although I’ve never tasted it,
    Tandoori Turkey.
  8. baste
    cover with liquid before cooking
    Then it’s baked in the oven, with frequent basting,
    until finally, hours later, it is brought out like a prize,
    brown and red and glistening.
  9. laden
    filled with a great quantity
    I miss Amma’s presence
    and her delicious carrot halwa,
    laden with ghee and plump raisins.
  10. morsel
    a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
    We bring some tempting morsels to Amma,
    but she is too nauseous to touch them.
  11. brittle
    having little elasticity
    Under hospital lights,
    Amma’s skin is dull,
    hair brittle,
    eyes shadowed.
  12. embassy
    a building where diplomats live or work
    The men at the American embassy don’t believe her
    when she says she has no intention of staying in the US forever,
    that she leaves a husband and relatives and friends in India
  13. biopsy
    the removal and examination of tissue from a living body
    Two weeks after she started chemotherapy,
    she has another bone marrow biopsy.
  14. legacy
    anything handed down by someone or something in the past
    If virtue has a color,
    it’s the color of the life within us,
    dancing with every heartbeat.
    It’s the legacy of our ancestors,
    the gifts of our parents
    that we try to live up to.
  15. xylem
    plant tissue that conducts water and dissolved nutrients
    I want to balance equations,
    conjugate French verbs,
    discuss Civil War battles,
    consider xylem and phloem inside plants.
  16. appendix
    a small sac attached to the large intestines of some animals
    Daddy is sick, his belly hurts.
    We all go to the emergency room,
    and learn that he must have his appendix out.
  17. pang
    a mental pain or distress
    I feel a pang at not seeing Amma,
    but she is still asleep in the ICU.
  18. wax
    increase in phase
    And when we leave the hospital,
    Amma’s face is brighter,
    a dimmed moon
    slowly waxing.
  19. sap
    deplete
    All the vegetables in India taste better,
    like growing them bigger here has sapped them of their flavor.
  20. headstrong
    habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition
    Sometimes while we sit and watch Amma sleep,
    Prema Auntie talks about what Amma was like as a girl:
    Beautiful
    Headstrong
    Loud.
  21. remission
    an abatement in intensity or degree
    And if we can tamp the cancer down,
    in what she calls remission,
    Amma will have a chance.
  22. smolder
    burn slowly and without a flame
    But the unfairness of what has happened
    to Amma
    to my family
    to me
    smolders in me like a hot coal,
    unquenchable.
  23. pry
    move or force in an effort to get something open
    I pry it open
    carefully
    standing next to the mailbox
    in the moist June air.
  24. steadfast
    marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
    Your insistence on giving me your bone marrow was one of the bravest things I've ever seen anyone do. It showed me what a strong and steadfast young woman you've already grown into, kanna.
  25. tributary
    a branch that flows into the main stream
    I have one life,
    a stream with many tributaries.
Created on Tue Dec 21 12:04:06 EST 2021 (updated Wed Dec 22 15:18:12 EST 2021)

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