On Air with Zoe Washington: Chapters 13–25

by Janae Marks
In this sequel to From the Desk of Zoe Washington, the fourteen-year-old pastry chef is now determined to help her biological father, who has been released from prison, to achieve their shared dream of opening a restaurant in Boston.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Excerpt from Radio Interview–Chapter 12, Chapters 13–25, Chapter 26–Eight Months Later
35 words 9 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. funk
    a state of nervous depression
    Only one thing could get me out of this funk. I decided
to bake all my frustrations out.
  2. aioli
    garlic mayonnaise
    Dinner that night was fried shrimp with a lemon aioli,
homemade coleslaw, and grilled corn on the cob.
  3. discriminate
    treat differently on the basis of race, sex, religion, etc.
    “I wouldn’t discriminate,” Marcus said. “Guilty or
innocent, if they spent time in prison and want to build a
better life for themselves once they’re out, I want to help.”
  4. skeptical
    marked by or given to doubt
    From the look on his face, Dad still seemed skeptical. Was it because he didn’t believe Marcus, or because he
was still uncomfortable with the idea of Marcus hiring
former convicts?
  5. custom
    made according to the specifications of an individual
    Usually, we need forty-eight-hour notice for custom cupcakes.
  6. nostalgia
    a longing for something past
    Her face lit
up, suddenly full of nostalgia. I knew that look. It was the
same as when she told people stories from when I was
little.
  7. crepe
    a small, thin pancake
    “First we're going to get crepes, and then we’re going
to watch a movie.”
  8. tartar
    a salt used especially in baking powder
    When Hannah’s dad dropped her off at my house
later that day, I brought her into the kitchen and showed
her the ingredients I’d laid out: a bowl of egg whites,
some cream of tartar, superfine sugar, gel food coloring,
almond flour, and confectioners’ sugar.
  9. macaroon
    chewy cookie usually containing coconut shavings
    “The coconut cookies?”
    “No, those are macaroons. These are macarons.” I tried
saying it with a French pronunciation, like I’d heard on
baking shows.
  10. puree
    a smooth, creamy food strained or processed in a blender
    Macarons were delicate sandwich cookies
with a chewy texture on the outside, and a filling—like
a frosting or fruit puree—on the inside.
  11. counselor
    someone who gives advice about problems
    My dad wants me to start seeing a counselor. Like, a
therapist.
  12. sift
    move as if through a sieve
    Once the color looked right, we grabbed a second bowl. We used a sifter to sift almond flour and confectioners’ sugar into it.
  13. regiment
    army unit smaller than a division
    The Fifty-Fourth Regiment was the first Black regiment
to be recruited to the North during the Civil War.
  14. inscription
    letters engraved or carved on something
    We spent a few minutes staring at the monument and
reading the inscriptions.
  15. defer
    hold back to a later time
    One
was about all the bad things that could happen if you deferred a dream, and the other one was Hughes saying that you should always hold on to your dreams.
  16. slog
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    I slogged back up to my room.
  17. dedicated
    devoted to a cause or ideal or purpose
    If there was an entire conference dedicated to
this, it was clearly a big problem.
    I also saw that there was a dedicated Wrongful Conviction Day every October.
  18. necessarily
    in an essential manner
    If the majority of exonerees were Black, then it
shouldn’t have surprised me that Massachusetts and other
states were not going out of their way to make sure these
people had the resources they needed once they got out.
That wasn’t how America was set up, and that wasn’t necessarily going to change anytime soon.
  19. collaborate
    work together on a common enterprise or project
    It’d be better
if someone with a big platform talked about this. Like a
celebrity. But I didn’t know any celebrities. Maybe I could
write to some and see if they would want to collaborate.
  20. overview
    a general summary of a subject
    “Yeah. I can interview one of Marcus’s lawyers first.
They could help give an overview of the problem, since
they must have a lot of clients who go through this. And
then I’ll see if they can connect me with other exonerees
to talk to. You or Dad could come with me, or I could
interview them on a video call.”
  21. brim
    be completely full
    When I finally went to bed, my brain was brimming
with ideas and hope.
  22. back burner
    reduced priority
    I’d forgotten that I hadn’t told Trevor that Marcus
wanted to put the idea on hold. He lived right next door,
and he still had no idea what was going on with me.
    “Oh, that’s on the back burner for now,” Marcus said.
  23. demeanor
    the way a person behaves toward other people
    “Really good. She came to one of
my basketball games last week. The other guys on my
team were making fun of me, ’cause I guess my whole demeanor changed when she showed up.”
  24. bittersweet
    tinged with sadness
    It felt good to laugh with Trevor. But it was bittersweet.
I had no idea when we’d get to hang out like this again.
  25. submit
    make an application as for a job or funding
    I scrolled down to where we could submit our project.
  26. marshal
    a law officer having duties similar to those of a sheriff
    Later, the fire marshal concluded
that the fire had been deliberately set.
  27. deliberately
    with intention; in an intentional manner
    Later, the fire marshal concluded
that the fire had been deliberately set. That’s called
arson.
  28. allege
    report or maintain
    Then the investigators found evidence: an
empty gas can in the garage, which was connected
to the kitchen, where they alleged the fire had been
set.
  29. policy
    written contract or certificate of insurance
    They also determined a motive: Amy and her
husband were going through hard times and her husband had an insurance policy that Amy would be
able to access if he died.
  30. prosecution
    lawyers for the state putting the case against the defendant
    The prosecution was able
to easily get a guilty verdict.
  31. arson
    malicious burning to destroy property
    She said all along that the fire was
an accident, and it was. When we got our hands
on this case, we dug into the evidence and found
errors on the original report that claimed the fire had
been arson.
  32. overturn
    cancel or revoke
    That document was the main piece of
evidence for her conviction, so once we proved it
was inaccurate, we got her conviction overturned.
  33. inconclusive
    not putting an end to doubt or question
    There are so many reasons why people are wrongfully convicted. There are eyewitness
error, false or inconclusive forensic evidence, false
confessions, and inadequate counsel, to name a few.
  34. forensic
    used in the investigation of facts or evidence in court
    There are so many reasons why people are wrongfully convicted. There are eyewitness
error, false or inconclusive forensic evidence, false
confessions, and inadequate counsel, to name a few.
  35. inadequate
    lacking the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task
    There are so many reasons why people are wrongfully convicted. There are eyewitness
error, false or inconclusive forensic evidence, false
confessions, and inadequate counsel, to name a few.
Created on Tue Jun 25 09:49:42 EDT 2024 (updated Tue Jun 25 15:49:06 EDT 2024)

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