Noggin: Chapters 9–19

by John Corey Whaley
Travis Coates died when he was sixteen, but five years later, his frozen head has been reattached to another teenager’s body. Now, he and everyone he once knew in Kansas City are struggling to readjust to life with the new version of him.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–19, Chapters 20–26, Chapter 27–Epilogue
35 words 2 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sentimentality
    the quality of being falsely emotional in a maudlin way
    I’m not a huge fan of sentimentality, and even in those last days I was finding it hard not to laugh at what others would consider very meaningful, emotional moments.
  2. anguish
    extreme mental distress
    We were shooting invisible little lines of sentiment and love and anguish.
  3. bane
    something causing misery or death
    “You have a little brother?”
    “Yeah. Skylar. Bane of my existence.”
  4. novelty
    originality by virtue of being refreshingly new
    I called Lawrence Ramsey again that weekend and told him about the letters. He said he was still getting them, said he thinks we’ll both get them until there’s more people like us—ones who wake up, anyway—and then maybe the novelty will wear off.
  5. abomination
    an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence
    “The letters that call you an abomination and accuse you of being the anti-Christ aren’t the worst ones. Those are mostly just funny,” he said. “It’s when they start saying ‘miracle’ and ‘blessing’...that’s when they get to you.”
  6. bog
    get stuck while doing something
    All told, I had about a year and a half of high school before I had to quit, and a lot of that was bogged down with doctor’s appointments and sick half days.
  7. accustomed
    in the habit of or adapted to
    Maybe that wasn’t fair, but my brain wasn’t all that accustomed to fairness around that time.
  8. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    I wasn’t so naive to think it would be all that easy for him this time. I’m not stupid.
  9. bound
    governed by fate
    And I was bound to see her with him again.
  10. inevitable
    incapable of being avoided or prevented
    Turner who works with computers would have to be a victim of fate. It was inevitable.
  11. necessarily
    in such a manner as could not be otherwise
    Something else inevitable was seeing my entire family for Thanksgiving. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
  12. distinct
    clearly or sharply defined to the mind
    She had an eyebrow ring, too, and I distinctly remember walking up to her as she was staring at a candle that was sitting on the windowsill in my grandmother’s den and asking if she wanted any dessert.
  13. ploy
    a maneuver in a game, conversation, or situation
    “That was either a phase or a ploy to get attention and drive Cindy crazy.”
  14. full-fledged
    having gained complete status
    I was even more shocked to see her younger brother, Toby, who was no longer a Dr. Seuss-quoting and adorable eight-year old but a full-fledged skinny teenager with shaggy hair and big headphones around his neck.
  15. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    He still didn’t say anything, but he smiled and exhaled a subtle laugh, holding out a closed fist.
  16. waft
    be driven or carried along, as by the air
    When dinner was ready and the scent of the turkey was wafting its way through the house and causing us all to turn ravenous, my cousin Thomas finally arrived.
  17. ravenous
    extremely hungry
    When dinner was ready and the scent of the turkey was wafting its way through the house and causing us all to turn ravenous, my cousin Thomas finally arrived.
  18. fatigues
    military uniform worn by personnel when doing menial labor
    He was dressed in his fatigues, hat and all, and gave my uncle Pete, a former Marine, a salute after he’d given everyone else a hug.
  19. flimsy
    lacking solidity or strength
    I sat at the flimsy card table with the other kids, where I belonged, and watched Chloe and Thomas at the grown-up table.
  20. spleen
    a large oval organ between the stomach and the diaphragm
    My stomach was about to attack my spleen for nutrients.
  21. eulogy
    a formal expression of praise for someone who has died
    When I opened my eyes, which were fairly wet, I saw that everyone in the room had the same expression, one of those sad-but-happy ones that you see when there’s a good memory or joke shared in a eulogy or when your grandparents talk about their childhoods.
  22. quota
    a prescribed number
    “Yeah, but I’ve reached my weekly quota already.”
  23. flail
    thrash about
    She was sort of flailing now, her hands still on the steering wheel, but the rest of her was shaking back and forth against her seat.
  24. frantically
    in an uncontrolled manner
    She took a throw pillow from the couch and hit my arms with it as I frantically waved them toward her.
  25. meddle
    intrude in other people's affairs or business
    “So what’s the plan?” Hatton asked, meddling around with stuff on my dresser.
  26. grovel
    show submission or fear
    “Wait here. I’m gonna go do some groveling.”
  27. stellar
    distinguished from others in excellence
    “Nah. His mom’s weird about her car. I don’t know why—he’s a stellar driver.”
    “Stellar?”
    “Stellar. I’ve seen it. It’s like he’s been driving for decades.”
  28. establishment
    a public or private structure with buildings and equipment
    The woman he loves is in your fine establishment, and if he can’t see her tonight, then it may all be over.
  29. faze
    disturb the composure of
    He always seemed completely unfazed by everything around him.
  30. profusely
    in very large amounts or quantities; extremely
    I was sweating profusely, and I suddenly became super paranoid that everyone could see my scar, that they were all about to stop what they were doing and focus right in on it.
  31. indistinguishable
    not capable of being clearly perceived or discerned
    Then I sort of mumbled for a while, a nervous, indistinguishable jumble of words to the general beat of the song.
  32. instinctive
    unthinking
    This time I reached over and took a napkin out of the red plastic dispenser at the end of the table and handed it to her. It was a quick, almost instinctive gesture, but she looked up at me like I’d just handed her the Hope Diamond and then she started crying again.
  33. statutory
    prescribed or authorized by or punishable under law
    “You guys being together. It’s illegal. Statutory.”
    “I turn seventeen in March. Then it’s legal.”
  34. register
    enter into someone's consciousness
    “It’s Cate.”
    “Cate.” It took a second to register. “Cate! Oh, hey.”
  35. archaic
    so extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period
    They say the heart is just a muscle. They say it plays absolutely no role in our emotions and that its use as a symbol for love is based on archaic theories of it being the seat of the soul or something ridiculous like that.
Created on Wed Oct 05 15:48:53 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Oct 06 12:50:03 EDT 2023)

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