Things Not Seen: Chapters 1–7

by Andrew Clements
What would you do if you woke up one morning and discovered you were invisible? That's the question fifteen-year-old Bobby Phillips has to answer in this thought-provoking novel.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–14, Chapters 15–21, Chapters 22–28

Here are links to our lists for other works by Andrew Clements: The Landry News, Frindle
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. perplexed
    full of difficulty or confusion or bewilderment
    The look on his face says, Perplexed Physicist at Work.
  2. anomaly
    deviation from the normal or common order, form, or rule
    Since we can't all be dreaming this ... we must be looking at some kind of visible light anomaly.
  3. specialist
    an expert devoted to one occupation or branch of learning
    "Oh, God! Oh, God! It's Bobby! It's him! He's there! He's . . . he's not. . . Oh, God, David, do something! Let's ... let's call Dr. Weston—or someone else, a ... a specialist."
    So I'm thinking, Oh, great. Yeah, let’s call one of those Invisible Teenager Specialists. I’ll get the Yellow Pages.
  4. crisis
    an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
    When there's a family crisis or something bad happens, usually you get to call for outside help.
  5. dissolve
    stop functioning or cohering as a unit
    But if your kid dissolves in the shower one morning?
  6. eliminate
    end, take out, or do away with
    I mean... there's only cause and effect, right? We are looking at an effect, so there must be a cause. We find the cause, we reverse it, and that eliminates the effect.
  7. admit
    declare to be true or accept the reality of
    Why don't you just admit that the truth is, you have no idea what I should do.
  8. disgust
    strong feelings of dislike
    But it's amazing how brave you feel when the people who have run your life for fifteen years suddenly can't see the disgusted look on your face.
  9. phenomenon
    any state or process known through the senses
    I mean like this isn't just some—phenomenon. And it's not like I've got the chicken pox or the flu or something. This is completely ... different, and it's happening to me, and it means that I can't do anything like I did it yesterday.
  10. ultimate
    furthest or highest in degree or order; utmost or extreme
    Here I am, standing here with my feet cramping up on the cold floor, imagining the rest of my life as the ultimate weirdo.
  11. stealth
    the act of moving in a quiet or secretive way to avoid being noticed
    When you came to the kitchen you said you were invisible, and you are. But what does that mean? You know the Stealth Bomber? The Air Force calls that plane invisible. Well, is it?
  12. refraction
    the change in direction of a propagating wave
    And the reason that your shadow is faint and mine isn't must be because my hand stops the light, and yours just bends it some—that's called refraction.
  13. sarcasm
    witty language used to convey insults or scorn
    And I don't say anything right away because sarcasm does a bad thing to Dad's brain chemistry.
  14. visual
    relating to or using sight
    I'm still shaky on my feet—I've got no visual fix on my own place in space.
  15. vital
    urgently needed; absolutely necessary
    My folks. They never lose sight of the important things. Like keeping up with homework. And poetry seminars. And Dad's atom-smashing team—well, we all know how vital that is to everyone.
  16. invisible
    impossible or nearly impossible to see
    So let me get this straight, Mom: Your kid goes invisible, and that's not an emergency?
  17. flaw
    an imperfection in a plan or theory that causes it to fail
    I look around and realize my little plan has a flaw: A public washroom does not offer a lot of places to hide a bundle of clothes.
  18. disoriented
    having lost your bearings
    I take it slow, feeling all dizzy and disoriented.
  19. coordination
    the skillful and effective interaction of movements
    It's like that coordination test where you have to shut your eyes and put your arm out straight and touch your pointer finger to the tip of your nose.
  20. limp
    walk unevenly due to pain, injury, or weakness
    It almost clips me a second time, but I limp over and stand near the wall—not too close, because I don't want my shape to show up as a blank space like my hand did on my desk this morning.
  21. consciousness
    an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself
    Like if I had a broken leg, and I'm in a heap in the stairwell, and I'm losing consciousness—what then?
  22. dimension
    one of three coordinates that determine a position in space
    People are doing things and saying things, but it's like they're in a different dimension, like they're on a stage or a screen.
  23. audience
    a gathering of spectators or listeners at a performance
    I'm just watching, an audience of one, watching secretly.
  24. notice
    discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
    It's like I'm a gnat. Fly around on my own, and no one notices me, no one could care less.
  25. glance
    take a brief look at
    I scoop it up and glance around, and I'm glad because there's nobody else really looking at me.
  26. bitter
    marked by strong resentment or cynicism
    For half a second her face changes—something sharp and bitter—but right away she smiles again and says, "Sure, see you 'round."
  27. surge
    a sudden or abrupt strong increase
    Just like at breakfast, I feel a surge of power from knowing that I can see his face, but he can't see mine.
  28. comprehend
    get the meaning of something
    His eyes narrowing, his forehead wrinkling as he tries to see and comprehend.
  29. fatal
    bringing death
    Sure, that was a big shock at breakfast, but let's remember, it's only Bobby. It's probably just another one of those phases that Bobby goes through. Probably not fatal. I think we can leave him here alone, don't you? He'll still be alive when we get home, don't you think?
  30. pierce
    move or affect deeply or sharply
    I watch my words as they hit, piercing his eyes and ears and cheeks like porcupine quills.
  31. fierce
    marked by extreme and violent energy
    Dad knows that my teeth must be showing, that I am as fierce as anything in any cage at the Brookfield Zoo.
  32. condition
    a mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing
    I'm in no condition to talk to the police.
  33. wreck
    a serious accident (usually involving one or more vehicles)
    I make my first decision: I've got to go see Mom and Dad. Because that's what you do if your family gets in a car wreck, right?
  34. gasp
    breathe in a heavy or labored way
    Naked invisible boys are not allowed to gasp and wheeze.
  35. ditch
    throw away
    They didn't want to let me come see you, but I ditched my clothes downstairs and came up anyway.
  36. ignore
    give little or no attention to
    Bobby, we didn't mean to leave you alone. I mean, we did, but it wasn't like we were ignoring you or forgetting about you.
  37. hitch
    any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome
    Working my way back to room 1007, getting into my clothes again, walking around to the front of the hospital, finding a nice big cab just like my mommy told me to, and then riding home—all that happens without a hitch.
  38. shriek
    utter a shrill cry
    The system will shriek when something outside starts to come through a door or a window.
  39. dread
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    Because of the fear. It's cranked up. It's up past terror, past panic. I'm thinking this must be dread. Except I'm not thinking. There's no room for thinking, just feeling, feeling like the dread is oozing up through the cracks between the boards on my floor.
  40. complexion
    texture and appearance of the skin of the face
    So I grab a comb and pull it across my head, patting my hair with the other hand. Feels right. It's Bobby, the well-groomed spook. What a clear complexion he has.
Created on Thu May 19 14:41:49 EDT 2016 (updated Wed Aug 15 16:09:49 EDT 2018)

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