Muffled: Chapters 16–23

by Jennifer Gennari
Ten-year-old Amelia learns to cope with her noise sensitivity while learning to play music and make new friends in fifth grade.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–15, Chapters 16–23
25 words 24 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. piercing
    having or emitting a high-pitched tone or tones
    These earmuffs have saved me from screechy subway brakes, piercing flutes, gross Noah sounds, trick or treat yells, wishy-washy Deb, and mean Kiki.
  2. rustle
    make a dry crackling sound
    Everyone rustles coats and programs while the flute players thump up onto the stage, passing the singers as they find their chairs in the audience.
  3. sliver
    (figurative) a small or narrow piece or slice
    When the flutes stop, the sliver of silence is sucked away by loud applause and more shuffling.
  4. dreidel
    a four-sided top used in a game played during Hanukkah
    Ms. Parker calls the trumpeters to the stage. My shoulders are as high as my ears as the forte sound of dreidel, dreidel, dreidel marches into my head.
  5. waver
    be unsure or weak
    I waver on the first note but then make it through “Jingle Bell Boogie,” counting the beats.
  6. falter
    be or become weak, unsteady, or uncertain
    “A Song of Peace” falters. Someone snort-laughs, a sour note squawks, and eyes turn toward me. The song starts up again.
  7. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    Shaking, I slink down, get my slide, and slither off the side of the stage and hide behind the riser legs.
  8. musty
    stale and unclean smelling
    It’s a cocoon, like my tube tunnel. The air is musty. I breathe in Vaseline and brass and rusty snaps holding hard cases closed.
  9. stuffy
    lacking fresh air
    It’s hot—so stuffy. How long before I breathe up all the oxygen?
  10. scrabble
    grope, scratch, or feel searchingly
    I scrabble for something to hold on to as the door swings open, and I tumble out, a mountain of instrument cases cascading all around me.
  11. cascade
    rush down in big quantities
    I scrabble for something to hold on to as the door swings open, and I tumble out, a mountain of instrument cases cascading all around me.
  12. comeback
    a quick reply to a question or remark
    Why didn’t I plan a comeback?
  13. refrain
    part of a song or poem that recurs at regular intervals
    I add, “The melody is ta-dum—”
    “Ta-ta-dum,” says Madge.
    Ms. Parker gives us a sweet look. “You two just made a repeating refrain with your words.”
  14. lurch
    move abruptly
    We find seats, and the T lurches forward.
  15. hurtle
    move with or as if with a rushing sound
    Then we are underground, waiting through the heart-stopping darkness, in the rattling, hurtling subway.
  16. overlay
    put something on top of something else
    I try thinking of Copley Station, overlaid with Belle’s sounds.
  17. flail
    thrash about
    I don’t know what happened, but Madge’s arms are flailing.
  18. flush
    turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame
    I sit and turn my flushed face to the corner, my back to the cafeteria.
  19. feeble
    pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness
    It sounds feeble even to my ears. I need to be louder than the muffling snow, loud enough to be heard through the walls of buildings, loud enough to be heard through car windows and bus doors.
  20. tumult
    a state of commotion and noise and confusion
    All the fear and noise and tumult feels like vibrations through my body.
  21. subdue
    hold within limits and control
    “These are designed to subdue background noise,” Mom explains.
  22. overwhelm
    overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
    “For when sound overwhelms,” Dad says.
  23. tamp
    keep in check or under control
    The sounds I hear are quieter and clear—nothing is lost or fuzzy, only tamped down. Manageable.
  24. scrawl
    write carelessly
    Jax’s Get well soon and name are scrawled on the cast in big letters.
  25. reverie
    absentminded dreaming while awake
    We watch a black-and-white video of her playing a tune called “Reverie,” soft and slow. Melba moves with her trombone, bell raised.
    “‘Reverie’ means ‘daydream,’” Mom says.
    The sound is dreamy.
Created on Mon May 16 12:25:13 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Jun 10 10:37:42 EDT 2022)

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