Vocabulary
the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.
Juxtaposition
“Yes, he just wanted her to want to be a mom, in the same way that he felt, with all of his blood, that he was a dad first, and everything else in the world an obscure, unfathomably distant second.”
Cynthia
Scandinavian food tradition that was imported to the United States. As a Christmas delicacy, it is even more popular in the U.S. than it is in the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
Lutefisk
Eva pitches "the dinner" idea to Octavia
Eva's bedroom
Main character who grows throughout the book
Eva
is a wine that is primarily made from a single named grape
Varietals
“Even though she had an overbite and the shakes, she was six feet tall and beautiful, and not like a statue or a perfume advertisement, but in a realistic way, like how a truck or a pizza is beautiful at the moment you want it most.”
Will
is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European zander, also known as the pikeperch.
Walleye
where Will and Eva went on their first date
The boat house
Materialistic, and judgmental
Octavia
ostentatiously rich and luxurious or lavish.
Opulent
“Also, what kind of baked good judging panel had three men on it? One was fine, but three? This was obviously a P.C. correction to last year's six female judges.”
Pat
deer meat
Venison
Where was Cynthia last seen before she cut off contact with Lars?
California
Dated Octavia
Adam
to wander aimlessly
Meandered
“She hated those boys and knew that they were stupid and hence their opinions were baseless and the impact of their lives on the planet would be measured only in undifferentiated emissions of methane and nitrates . . . but still.”
Eva
made with red and green bell peppers that are diced into a very small pieces then stirred
“Sweet Pepper Jelly”
Where was Eva's first job
Lulu's
stay at home mother and competes in the county food festival every year
Pat
large, heavy, or clumsy.
Hulking
“What people don’t understand about deer is that they’re vermin. They’re giant, furry cockroaches. They invade a space, reproduce like hell, and eat everything in sight.”
Jordy
is a culinary dish consisting primarily of sweet corn with lima beans or other shell beans. Other ingredients may be added including tomatoes, green or sweet red peppers, and okra.
succotash
Where was "the dinner hosted' when Cynthia came to see Eva?
South Dakota
"perfect mother' owned a big house and was every well off
Celest