Race to the Sun: Chapters 36–46

by Rebecca Roanhorse
Seventh-grader Nizhoni, her brother, and her best friend must pass a series of difficult tests and travel to the House of the Sun in order to defeat ancient monsters.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–15, Chapters 16–24, Chapters 25–35, Chapters 36–46
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. chortle
    a soft partly suppressed laugh
    The bear with the piece missing from one ear laughs, a big belly-shaking chortle.
  2. callous
    emotionally hardened
    Jóhonaa’éí, who has been listening, says callously, “Sacrifices must be made.”
  3. chastise
    scold or criticize severely
    “Don’t anger me, child, when you still need my help. I can get quite heated.”
    “Sorry,” I mumble, chastised.
  4. obscure
    marked by difficulty of style or expression
    “He does like to help out, and his songs are sometimes obscure but always wise. What did it say?”
  5. sentinel
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    “People vanish from the Rainbow Road quite frequently,” Jóhonaa’éí confirms. “Things, too. Ideas. Thoughts. I have my bear sentinels collect them all and keep them in the Lost and Found.”
  6. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
    I blanch, but I’m not backing down.
  7. behold
    see with attention
    “And behold the weapons of a true monsterslayer!”
  8. roiling
    (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence
    Entering the weapons room is like stepping into a roiling ball of electricity. Light and fire seem to flash all around me, and my instinct is to cover my head and get out of the way.
  9. forge
    create by hammering
    “I control lightning, and from it I can forge any weapon of your choosing. Tell me what you and your friends require and I will shape them for you.”
  10. bluster
    vain and empty boasting
    “It’s just a question,” I insist, ignoring his bluster.
  11. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    "Each monsterslayer will have the weapon most appropriate for them,” Jóhonaa’éí chides.
  12. tumult
    violent agitation
    Jóhonaa’éí reaches back into the tumult of white fire, and again I have to shut my eyes at the flare of bright light.
  13. static
    showing little if any change
    “These children are different from their ancestors. Just as the trials changed to fit Nizhoni’s imagination, so must the weapons adapt. The ways of the Diné are not static but alive and ever-changing.”
  14. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    “I took an archery class at summer camp once,” I say in a rush, remembering the weight of the bow, the feeling of the taut string close to my cheek, the whip of the arrow as I loosed it at the target.
  15. dally
    waste time
    “Can we get Mac and Davery from the Lost and Found now?” I ask. I can’t wait to show them the weapons Jóhonaa’éí made especially for us.
    “I suppose so, if we don't dally,” Mr. Yazzie says.
  16. spare
    save or relieve from an experience or action
    “If I could, I would spare you this sorrow, child.”
  17. resolutely
    showing firm determination or purpose
    “Me?” I ask, not liking this at all.
    “Yes,” he says resolutely. “You are the monsterslayer of this generation. It is you who must make the sacrifice.”
  18. hail
    greet enthusiastically or joyfully
    He is helping other freed warriors step down off their platforms while Mr. Yazzie, still on his shoulder, hails each one.
  19. quicksilver
    a metallic element that is liquid at ordinary temperatures
    "And this is for you, Mac,” I say, dangling the vial attached to the leather cord. The liquid inside looks like quicksilver, thick and viscous and hinting at the colors of the rainbow.
  20. viscous
    having a relatively high resistance to flow
    "And this is for you, Mac,” I say, dangling the vial attached to the leather cord. The liquid inside looks like quicksilver, thick and viscous and hinting at the colors of the rainbow.
  21. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    "You have to be really careful with it.”
    “Sweet!” Mac exclaims, taking it gingerly.
  22. dire
    fraught with extreme danger; nearly hopeless
    “You had to believe you were giving up that which mattered most. True intent was enough to break the amber cases. But things are much too dire for you not to fight!”
  23. sheer
    very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front
    Lizhin leads us over the Chuska Mountains, great sheer peaks that run north and south down the spine of the Navajo Nation.
  24. beeline
    the most direct route
    They must see us, too, because an awful shriek goes up, and they immediately bank to make a beeline for us.
  25. sentiment
    a personal belief or judgment
    "Scatter!" Black Jet Girl shouts to the guardians, and Lizhin echoes the sentiment with a piercing call.
  26. bank
    tip laterally
    The other heralds spread out, banking left and right, respectively.
  27. respectively
    in the order given
    The other heralds spread out, banking left and right, respectively.
  28. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    The monster screeches and veers away.
  29. fetid
    offensively malodorous
    I can smell its hot, fetid breath and see the rows of rotted teeth inside its mouth.
  30. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    A shimmery substance unfurls in the air underneath him like a silver net. He falls into the glimmering stuff, and it completely envelops his body, rolling him into what looks like a giant burrito.
  31. straddle
    sit or stand astride of
    The bináá’ yee aghání emits an ear-piercing shriek and falls out of the sky. Ms. Bird goes down with it, still straddling the buzzard’s back.
  32. shaft
    a long rod or pole, especially the body of a weapon
    It’s a direct hit right over my heart. I scream as fire radiates through my body. I clutch at the shaft, thinking to pull it out, but I’m already losing strength in my arms.
  33. truss
    tie the wings and legs of a bird before cooking it
    I try to peer past him, to see if he does, in fact, have Mac trussed up and ready to go like a stuffed turkey.
  34. toil
    work hard
    The thought of him dragging kids with ancestral powers to Oklahoma and making them toil for him makes me shiver.
  35. sickle
    an edge tool for cutting grass or crops
    He holds up his stone knife, and I watch as it transforms into a huge sickle. A sharp curved silver blade on a wooden pole twice as tall as me. With his skeletal figure and his black clothes, clutching that giant scythe, he looks like the grim reaper.
  36. hobble
    walk unevenly due to pain, injury, or weakness
    “Just lean against me,” he says. We hobble over to where Mr. Charles used to be.
  37. defiantly
    in a rebellious manner
    Mom steps up, tears in her eyes, her chin raised defiantly.
  38. zenith
    the highest point of something
    We all look, squinting into the sun that’s now halfway to its zenith.
  39. mutton
    meat from a mature domestic sheep
    “In honor of Bethany coming home and Nizhoni and Marcus discovering their powers. I'll make mutton stew and frybread.”
  40. dismissive
    showing indifference or disregard
    "This is the rez,” Spider Woman says dismissively. "Stranger things have happened than a few missing relatives showing up. We’ll figure it out.”
Created on Thu Jan 30 10:07:08 EST 2020 (updated Tue Feb 04 11:42:55 EST 2020)

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