This Is How I Roll: Chapters 16–27

by Debbi Michiko Florence
The daughter of a sushi chef whose Californian restaurant has been featured in magazines, twelve-year-old Susannah Mikami wants to prove to her father that she is worthy of a place in his kitchen.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–15, Chapters 16–27, Chapter 28–Epilogue
35 words 14 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. replicate
    make or do or perform again
    Dad
had eaten my pancakes. Not only that, he’d liked them enough
to replicate them.
  2. formal
    refined or imposing in manner or appearance
    “Okay, nothing formal, Chef Hiro,” Baxton said. “I just want you to be a dad cooking with his daughter. Casual, fun. Just act
like it’s a regular Monday morning at home.”
  3. whisk
    a mixer incorporating a coil of wires
    Dad slid the bowl with the yolks to me and
handed me a whisk. I added ingredients and beat the mixture
while he set up the stand mixer.
  4. meringue
    sweet dessert or topping made of beaten egg whites and sugar
    As I folded the meringue into the batter, he
asked, “Why are you being so gentle with the meringue?”
  5. accustomed
    in the habit of or adapted to
    “That was fantastic! One-take
perfection. Loved how your family dynamic just shined through.
It’s obvious Chef Hiro and Sana are accustomed to cooking
together. Bravo!”
  6. inventory
    making an itemized list of merchandise or supplies on hand
    If I biked to the restaurant, I could
grab a bottle of oyster sauce, catch Dad before he got too focused
on inventory, and ask him when he would be home that evening.
  7. stoic
    seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
    Ruthie was bubbly and enthusiastic, the perfect foil to Dad’s stoic demeanor.
  8. demeanor
    the way a person behaves toward other people
    Ruthie was bubbly and enthusiastic, the perfect foil to Dad’s stoic demeanor.
  9. solace
    comfort offered to one who is disappointed or miserable
    He hadn’t asked me what I was making, but he
also hadn’t told me I couldn’t use the kitchen. It was almost as
good as having his blessing. I took solace in that and biked home
with a renewed determination to continue my lessons with Mrs.
Yamada no matter what.
  10. knickknack
    a small, inexpensive decorative object
    Koji and Harley had cleared the kitchen of any
distractions. They’d moved the canisters and knickknacks off
the back counter.
  11. establish
    build something abstract
    We don’t want to veer off from our format now that we’re establishing an audience.
  12. domineering
    tending to rule in a cruel manner
    “Koji, get over here and start recording. We’ll edit tonight
and post. It’s important not to let too much time go between
episodes.”
    Wow. Harley had a very domineering personality.
  13. faze
    disturb the composure of
    I scowled at her, but she wasn’t fazed.
  14. trump
    get the better of
    “The benefit of having divorced parents.
Parental guilt trumps everything. I don’t have to do chores or
study or go to summer camp. I get to do whatever I want all
summer long.”
  15. rueful
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
    She shook her head with a rueful smile. “So this is you going
through your rebellious stage? I guess I can handle it.”
  16. grudgingly
    in a reluctant manner
    My
voice sounded pretty good, not shaky or squeaky, and I had to
admit grudgingly that Harley’s direction for me to sound more
upbeat had been helpful.
  17. sober
    become or cause to become more serious
    I grinned all the way to Koji’s, but then sobered. The longer
I kept what I was doing from Charli, the harder it would be to
tell her.
  18. overwhelm
    overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
    When I got to Koji’s, I was a little overwhelmed. The counter was crammed with bowls and bags of almost everything from
their pantry and fridge.
  19. jar
    affect in a disagreeable way
    Koji’s voice was much less jarring than Harley’s,
that was for sure.
  20. sprig
    a small branch or stem, usually with leaves or flowers
    Koji’s lemonade was the best. He’d even added a sprig of
fresh mint.
  21. incorporate
    make into a whole or make part of a whole
    I want to incorporate
omurice in our videos. Maybe put the omelet on the bottom like
a canvas and use food items to make pictures on top, like a garden with butterflies and ladybugs.
  22. pivotal
    being of crucial importance
    I felt like this was a moment—a pivotal moment I would never
ever forget. A boy planted my favorite flower for me, and then
gave me a clipped blossom.
  23. neutral
    lacking distinguishing quality or characteristics
    I forced my face to remain neutral. She was just trying to get
to me.
  24. jut
    extend out or project in space
    “Is that new?” she asked, jutting her chin to the hibiscus
plant.
  25. coy
    affectedly shy especially in a playful or provocative way
    “Really? No. That doesn’t seem right. I mean, I invited you.”
    I raised my eyebrows at him and gave him a coy look Esme
would have been proud of.
  26. gyoza
    a Japanese dumpling stuffed with minced pork and cabbage
    “Because he’d take over. And he’d never make
dumplings.”
    “That’s not true at all, Sana. Where do you get such outrageous ideas? Dad loves gyoza.”
  27. assortment
    a collection containing a variety of kinds of things
    She agreed that an assortment of glass tiles in blues that mimicked the ocean was
a great idea.
  28. laminate
    a sheet of material made by bonding two or more layers
    Our tight budget meant we couldn’t get the marble countertops I wanted. But Mom found a good substitute in laminate that looked nice at least.
  29. fret
    worry unnecessarily or excessively
    I fretted for a minute
longer, knowing the longer I waited, the bigger the possibility I
would burn dinner.
  30. fickle
    marked by erratic changeableness in affections
    Koji didn’t seem like the fickle type. But then I remembered
Harley’s warning. That he was a flirt and got tired of girls easily.
  31. narcissist
    someone who is excessively self-centered
    Your dad is the owner and chef of
Mikami Sushi. There’s going to be a freakin’ documentary about
him like he’s some super wonderful person, when he’s a rich,
vain narcissist who puts people out of business!
  32. churn
    be agitated
    I was humiliated, angry, and hurt. All those emotions swirled
and churned inside me, making me feel queasy.
  33. exponentially
    in a manner of rapid growth
    If Koji’s reaction had been bad, Charli’s would be exponentially worse if she found out from anyone but me.
  34. harbor
    maintain, as a theory, thought, or feeling
    “Oh geez, I
guess I was just harboring an old grudge. But still! Koji punched
someone. And he got expelled.”
  35. scrabble
    grope, scratch, or feel searchingly
    Suddenly I was staring at Charli’s dorm room ceiling as
she dropped her phone. I heard her scrabbling around.
Created on Sun May 19 16:32:50 EDT 2024 (updated Mon May 20 15:50:06 EDT 2024)

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