Hands: Chapters 15–30

by Torrey Maldonado
Twelve-year-old Trevor, a talented artist, faces difficult situations living in the projects and violence in the family. He grapples with how to use his hands: to fight or to build a better future.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–14, Chapters 15–30, Chapters 31–43, Chapters 44–67
15 words 61 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. gag
    choke or retch
    THE boxing gym in the rec stinks so smelly-socks bad, I nearly gag.
  2. reputation
    the general estimation that the public has for a person
    I usually don’t get stared down because my stepdad and his friends have a no-joke reputation and heads don’t wanna war with them, so they don’t start with me.
  3. exaggerated
    represented as greater than is true or reasonable
    P taps me. “Walk harder. We look soft.”
    “Soft?”
    He points at a guy and we imitate how he walks, but it feels exaggerated.
    I whisper, “I feel goofy.”
  4. strut
    a proud and confident way of walking
    And what’s up with his cowboy strut? Dude walks like he just rode a horse for hours. Leans on one leg, then swings the other to step forward.
  5. routine
    a short theatrical performance that is part of a longer one
    Homeboy’s Tom Holland–Spider-Man fit and he does this jump-rope routine from Creed.
  6. base
    a support or foundation
    “Easy, easy. Save your legs. You sparring later and that’s where your power comes from—your legs, your base. Take it easy, okay?”
  7. smirk
    a smile expressing smugness or scorn instead of pleasure
    When P farts, our chests hit the floor and we bust out laughing, for just a second. Because heads here don’t smile.
    I hide my smirk.
  8. sense
    sound practical judgment
    Right now, it’s English class with Ms. Clark. She’s a mom with two kids. One son’s my age and she told me he looks like me. Makes sense since she looks like Ma.
  9. grimy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt
    “If you don’t want to talk to me, there are other school adults who can help you.”
    I stand. “Ms. Clark, I gotta go.” At the door, I feel grimy because she’s dope and she was just being nice. “I’m sorry.”
  10. charter
    a document creating an institution and specifying its rights
    The train home is packed. Adults. Kids. Black, White, Latino, Asian, everything. Charter school kids in uniforms. Kids in regular gear like me. Crowd’s kinda thick, but I feel alone.
  11. cling
    hold on tightly or tenaciously
    Uncle Lou was Ma’s brother, my blood uncle who she says I look like. He died when I was four. Ma says I was his heart. Says I clung to him like he was my heart too. I don’t remember him. Wish I did.
  12. convince
    make realize the truth or validity of something
    I’m so pissed he has me here begging and I can’t think of anything else to say to convince him. “A’ight.” I give up and walk off.
  13. instinct
    inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to stimuli
    I jump into it. “You know Quick?”
    On instinct, his eyelid stress-twitches and one hand touches his forearm tat. His reaction says more than he says. “Yeah. How you know Quick?”
    I lift my cracked knuckles in a fighter's pose. "Met him today at the rec. He trains boxers there."
  14. pose
    a particular way of positioning or arranging one’s body
    I jump into it. “You know Quick?”
    On instinct, his eyelid stress-twitches and one hand touches his forearm tat. His reaction says more than he says. “Yeah. How you know Quick?”
    I lift my cracked knuckles in a fighter’s pose. “Met him today at the rec. He trains boxers there.”
  15. hustle
    sell or obtain by energetic and underhanded activity
    Hustlers know when you hustle them.
Created on Thu Nov 07 21:11:27 EST 2024 (updated Thu Nov 14 18:51:33 EST 2024)

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