Dry: Parts Four–Six

by Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman
When their parents disappear during a crippling drought, siblings Alyssa and Garrett join a small group of teens in a desperate quest for survival.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Parts Four–Six

Here are links to our lists for other works by Neal Shusterman: Challenger Deep, Scythe
40 words 151 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. divvy
    separate into parts or portions
    “She’ll claim it’s community property, divvy it out to her minions, and there goes our emergency supply.”
  2. altruistic
    showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others
    I expected Alyssa to argue, because she’s the only one of us altruistic enough to be okay with that.
  3. caustic
    capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action
    There’s a haze that hangs in the air, thick and caustic.
  4. placard
    a sign posted in a public place
    Finally we come to a sign that says NOW ENTERING ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST, with a red placard that says FIRE RISK: HIGH.
  5. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    Finally we come to an upturned tree stump with a red ribbon caught in its dead, gnarled roots.
  6. obstinate
    refusing to change one's mind or ways; difficult to convince
    And now I’m grateful that Henry was so obstinate about not opening the box of ÁguaViva.
  7. callous
    emotionally hardened
    Has she already forgotten how terrible Brady’s death was, or is she so callous that she just doesn’t care?
  8. moot
    of no legal significance, as having been previously decided
    But when the box was opened, that all became moot.
  9. grovel
    show submission or fear
    And then Henry begins to grovel for his life. “Please,” he whimpers. “I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry for everything....”
  10. rout
    cause to flee
    I don’t want that thought in my head. I want to focus on the solution, not the problem. But the thought keeps worming back in, undermining every attempt to rout it out.
  11. despondent
    without or almost without hope
    Garrett is despondent, just slumped in a corner.
  12. enticing
    highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire
    It tastes like I’ve been sucking mud. Moist, glistening mud. It’s actually enticing. Never mind an ice-cold can of Dr Pepper dripping with beads of condensation—I’d definitely settle for mud right now.
  13. parameter
    any factor defining a system and determining its performance
    Funny how the needs of your own body redefine the parameters of what you’d settle for.
  14. mediocrity
    ordinariness as a consequence of being average
    My father said it was okay to have a few of them up, but didn’t want me to display the rest. He felt all those nonwinning awards would be “a shrine to mediocrity,” and such a thing was beneath me.
  15. asinine
    devoid of intelligence
    My father got me a geography coloring book when he found out that the asinine California school system decided they didn’t need to teach geography anymore.
  16. wistfully
    in a pensively sad manner
    “Sparkling...,” echoes Garrett wistfully, and I know he’s thinking of something cold with bubbles.
  17. curtail
    place restrictions on
    It takes every ounce of self control I have to stop myself and curtail my biological imperative.
  18. nicety
    conformity with some standard of correctness or propriety
    When it comes to survival, there are harsh rules that go against the niceties of gracious living.
  19. incapacitate
    make unable to perform a certain action
    “Play nice, now,” he says, and he doesn’t release her arm, which keeps her incapacitated.
  20. reflexive
    without volition or conscious control
    “He’s not my boyfriend,” I say reflexively—but I wish I had said nothing.
  21. invocation
    the act of appealing for help
    But he never completes the invocation of his lord and savior, because Kelton shifts his arm, fires again, and the bullet hits the skinhead in that space just beneath his nose.
  22. quell
    overcome or allay
    It does nothing to quell the fire, because the flames just close in and the remaining sides of the cooler collapse.
  23. gait
    a person's manner of walking
    Kelton is a few feet ahead of us, but I can see the way his feet move, that it’s not a normal gait. It’s the same dragging shuffle as the rest of us.
  24. nexus
    the means of connection between things linked in series
    I am barreling through white flame and absolute darkness, the nexus between life and death.
  25. undertow
    a current that flows away from the shore after waves break
    I immediately get a vision of the beach. How the incoming waves create an undertow, drawing back the water from the shore.
  26. labored
    requiring or showing effort
    “When we’re...when we’re at...at the top,” Kelton wheezes between labored breaths and coughs, “we’ll...we’ll turn left...cut across to the...to the...”
  27. rheum
    a watery discharge from the mucous membranes
    His rheumy eyes meet mine.
  28. guttural
    relating to or articulated in the throat
    Finally, he begins mumbling, but it’s not words, it’s just guttural sounds, faint clicks and hisses.
  29. swoon
    pass out from weakness or physical or emotional distress
    I quickly grab him and pull him back from the ledge before he can swoon off the cliff, and I hold him tight.
  30. cumbersome
    difficult to handle or use, especially because of size or weight
    I almost chucked it when we started up the hill, because it was so cumbersome.
  31. bluff
    a high steep bank
    Then his eyes are drawn to the top of a bluff, where he sees others.
  32. jettison
    throw away, of something encumbering
    Yet even though he’s already begun his ascent, he realizes he can’t just let this go. He’s flown too low to jettison his humanity.
  33. rivulet
    a small stream
    Garrett is on his knees licking the boulder, catching tiny rivulets that course down its side—and then I see that there are dips and indentations on the surface of the flat stone.
  34. vagrant
    a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
    Main Street has been washed clean of wildfire ash, the Haunted Mansion has been cleared of vagrants...
  35. herald
    praise vociferously
    Tons of people are being heralded as heroes all over Southern California.
  36. hiatus
    an interruption in the intensity or amount of something
    More than two hundred thousand souls perished during humanity’s hiatus.
  37. wraith
    a ghostly figure, especially one seen shortly before death
    And the shadows were there, too. Kids who are wraiths of their former selves.
  38. visceral
    coming from deep inward feelings rather than from reasoning
    It’s a moment I replay over and over again in my mind, although the memory registers more viscerally than visually. The feeling of the memory.
  39. concede
    admit or acknowledge, often reluctantly
    “And twelve years from now, you’ll call to tell me that you want me to be the godfather to your first kid.”
    “Possibly,” I concede.
  40. wellspring
    an abundant source
    But above all that, in spite of all that, binding us together...is hope. And joy. And a wellspring of all the things that still might be.
Created on Wed Jan 02 15:25:47 EST 2019 (updated Fri Jan 04 10:01:47 EST 2019)

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