The Magical Imperfect: Parts 3–4

by Chris Baron
In a small California town, twelve-year-old Etan Hirsch has trouble talking when his life is shaken by earthquakes and the hospitalization of his mother.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Parts 1–2, Parts 3–4, Parts 5–7
20 words 15 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. wisp
    a thin tuft, piece, or amount of something
    The candle goes out
    in a wisp of smoke.
  2. blunder
    make one's way clumsily or blindly
    We hear him barking, feet shuffling through brush,
    and eventually he blunders into the clearing
    next to the water.
  3. scab
    form a crustlike surface of a healing skin lesion
    I notice her arms are more red than usual,
    even some red scratch marks scabbed over.
  4. flare
    erupt or intensify suddenly
    Malia’s allergic to dogs, this will make her skin
    flare up even more.
  5. hesitate
    pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
    For some reason,
    even now when I want to talk,
    the words won’t come out,
    so I hesitate,
    not on purpose,
    but by now
    I know
    that silence
    can wound
  6. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    and by the time
    I muster the words
    it was good,
    it’s too late.
    I see her face change,
    eyes turned down,
    tears already on the way.
  7. plead
    appeal or request earnestly
    The grown-ups say their goodbyes,
    then my grandfather looks at me with pleading eyes.
  8. atonement
    the act of making amends for sin or wrongdoing
    I get in line to buy my grandfather
    his coffee and bagel,
    a last meal
    before he starts his Yom Kippur fast,
    leading up to the day of atonement.
    It's a time, he explains, to say sorry
    for things we've done
    and mean it.
  9. ventriloquist
    a performer who projects the voice into a wooden dummy
    The Covenanteer holds up a clipboard full of names and acts:
    singers, piano players,
    Hula-Hoopers, ventriloquists, at least ten magicians.
  10. glare
    look at with a fixed or angry gaze
    And that’s when she looks up,
    her face more red than I’ve ever seen,
    her one eye swollen, but with the other
    she glares at me.
  11. constrict
    squeeze or push together
    Malia’s body constricts.
    Ahhhh, I can smell it from here!
  12. hunch
    round one's back by bending forward
    She slowly stands,
    her shoulders hunched.
  13. checkered
    patterned with alternating squares of color
    This is where I remember her the most,
    the green eyes of my grandmother,
    her checkered dress and fuzzy hat,
    her strong hands around my cheeks.
  14. compost
    a mixture of decaying vegetation and manure
    I unlock the door to the shop, grab the broom,
    and I help sweep ruined fruit into compost buckets.
  15. grate
    scratch repeatedly
    Before my mom went to the hospital,
    she told me that sometimes we have to make hard choices,
    the kinds that grate against your gut,
    that hurt, but you still know
    they’re the right thing to do.
  16. canvas
    a heavy, closely woven fabric
    On the shelf above it
    is a canvas bag already packed,
    the jar of clay,
    a note rolled up tied together with twine.
  17. reflection
    a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
    Yow are right, Etan.
    It's been a long day of reflection.
    This clay is part of a bigger story of who we are.
  18. delicate
    exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing
    I put the phone to my ear,
    whisper, Hello?
    and listen to the delicate
    sound of her voice
    telling me
    she’s coming home
    soon.
  19. sentinel
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    The trees are giants,
    sentinels guarding the footpath,
    different in the midday light.
  20. awkward
    lacking grace or skill in manner or movement or performance
    I lift them out,
    then in one awkward motion,
    trying NOT to let it fall to the ground,
    I rub the clay onto her arms,
    pressed between my palm and her forearm.
Created on Fri Mar 24 09:40:15 EDT 2023 (updated Fri Mar 24 12:38:53 EDT 2023)

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