Ruby Lost and Found: Chapters 18–27

by Christina Li
While struggling to deal with the death of her grandfather and the separation from her friends, thirteen-year-old Ruby Chu decides to ditch school and ends up spending time in both detention and her grandmother's apartment in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–10, Chapters 11–17, Chapters 18–27
30 words 14 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. facility
    a building or place that provides a particular service
    “There are full-time care facilities. Maybe she needs a nurse or something to take care of her.”
  2. evaluation
    the act of ascertaining or judging the quality of
    We’re going to get your nai-nai in for some evaluations, and then—
  3. backfire
    return with an undesired effect
    Every time I tried to do something, it would backfire in my face. And all I did was cause problems.
  4. frazzle
    exhaust physically or emotionally
    I expected to see Nai-Nai in her flowery pants, shrugging a sweater around her and fluffing up her hair.
    Instead I met a frazzled Nai-Nai who was tugging a jacket around her and carrying a backpack in her hands.
  5. haphazardly
    in a random manner
    Her hair was wild and she wore bright shirts haphazardly layered over one another and flowery pants.
  6. collected
    in full control of your faculties
    “They’re worried about you,” I said, trying to keep a collected voice.
  7. survey
    look over carefully or inspect
    I stumbled back, helplessly surveying the situation.
  8. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    Sure, Nai-Nai was scatterbrained and free-spirited, but she was never like this. I tried, tentatively, to say, “Let’s go home, Nai-Nai.”
  9. hyperventilate
    breathe excessively hard and fast
    Oh, no, no, no. Mom and Dad were going to be furious. I started hyperventilating.
  10. flimsy
    lacking solidity or strength
    I flipped through the spines, feeling the flimsy cover paper.
  11. scour
    examine minutely
    I took books out and scoured the shelves.
    I stepped back. “It’s gone,” I said softly.
  12. sprawl
    go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way
    We wandered farther into the store, past the bolts of fabric sprawled out on the table and the ribbons and toward the wall of velvet.
  13. tulle
    a fine fabric net used for veils, tutus, or gowns
    I watched a piece of tulle drift in the fan breeze.
  14. pucker
    become wrinkled or drawn together
    My lips puckered at the tangy sweetness.
  15. upstage
    draw attention to oneself away from someone else
    I smiled at the thought of Nai-Nai and her flower pants upstaging surfer dudes.
  16. trellis
    latticework used to support climbing plants
    We were surrounded by green all around. Vines climbed high on trellises.
  17. lurch
    move haltingly and unsteadily
    We lurched back toward Chinatown. Two more stops. The bus slowed, and I felt Nai-Nai getting out of her seat.
  18. scathing
    marked by harshly abusive criticism
    Mom’s tone was scathing. “Shă yātou. You just cannot do a single thing with common sense, can you? Not even if we beg you?”
  19. cognitive
    relating to or involving the mental process of knowing
    “We did some cognitive and neurological tests. It’s confirmed. Nai-Nai is showing signs of mild dementia, possibly Alzheimer’s.”
  20. sole
    not divided or shared with others
    But we should have never asked you to be the sole caretaker of your nai-nai in the first place.
  21. gawk
    look with amazement
    “Old Lady Moving Crew?”
    “Are we not old? And are we not moving things? Speaking of, Ruby, you should stop gawking at my car and go open the door so we can carry things through it.”
  22. nonchalantly
    in a composed and unconcerned manner
    “It’s a fiercely competitive process, but he got the role with flying colors.”
    Liam shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m just that good.”
  23. concede
    admit or acknowledge, often reluctantly
    “I’ll drive slower this time.”
    “No, your driving is fine, if not entirely legal,” May Wong conceded.
  24. pare
    strip the skin off
    May Wong washed the apple, and then began to pare it with a small knife.
  25. grit
    clench together
    “You’re getting lapped, Ruby.”
    “Hey!” I said, gritting my teeth. “I didn’t come here to get roasted by everyone.”
  26. rummage
    search haphazardly
    Even Viv peeked in from the pantry, where she was rummaging for dessert.
  27. spire
    a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building
    I could barely see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, its red spires rising out of where the fog met the sea.
  28. briny
    slightly salty
    The waves crashed on the sand, the sea air salty and briny.
  29. anemone
    a marine polyp that resembles a flower
    We just peacefully watched the tentacles of the anemone ripple, slowly.
  30. behemoth
    someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful
    He weaved through the crowd with his behemoth of a computer bag.
Created on Sun Mar 24 17:35:01 EDT 2024 (updated Mon Mar 25 15:49:41 EDT 2024)

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