Noggin: Chapter 27–Epilogue

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
30 words 2 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. embroider
    decorate with needlework
    She held the terry-cloth bathrobe to her chest and then out again, examining the embroidered initials on the front.
  2. futile
    producing no result or effect
    They said I had two minutes to get my shoes and coat on and meet them in the driveway.
    “Resistance is futile,” Hatton added in a deep voice, slowly backing away into the darkness outside.
  3. blubber
    cry or whine with snuffling
    Inside the truck I was afraid to say much because I had that lumpy feeling in my throat, half due to amazement and half to trying not to blubber like a baby.
  4. generic
    having no special or distinctive characteristics; unoriginal
    It was a fairly generic place, one of those two-level faux brick and aluminum siding buildings with exterior doors that all look identical except for their shiny gold numbers.
  5. faux
    not genuine or real
    It was a fairly generic place, one of those two-level faux brick and aluminum siding buildings with exterior doors that all look identical except for their shiny gold numbers.
  6. khaki
    a sturdy type of cloth that is a light brown color
    The door swung open, and Dad stood before me in a light blue T-shirt and khaki pants.
  7. stance
    standing posture
    His face was scruffy from a few days of not shaving, and his stance was weak, shoulders folded in a little with the realization of what was happening.
  8. sparse
    not dense or plentiful
    The place was sparsely furnished with bare walls and empty coffee and side tables.
  9. perpetual
    continuing forever or indefinitely
    He told us that as long as we kept holding on to the idea that you’d come back, we’d never be able to move on or get over losing you. He told us we were sentencing ourselves to a life of perpetual mourning, a life where we’d feel like you were dying every single day over and over again.
  10. charade
    an imitation that humorously misrepresents something
    After the talk with my mom I called Dad to apologize, and he asked if I wanted him to come home. I said he was home and that there was no reason to keep up their charade any longer just for my benefit.
  11. prompt
    serve as the inciting cause of
    I wondered if Dad had told her about his job, if maybe the previous day’s events had prompted him to come clean about all his secrets.
  12. pique
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    I’ll admit that my curiosity, at that point, was pretty piqued.
  13. size up
    look at closely in order to form an opinion about
    But the way I figure, I might as well size up the competition before making my next move.
  14. intervention
    care provided to improve a situation
    The next day Kyle picked Hatton and me up from school, and I knew immediately that they were about to stage some intervention or something.
  15. technicality
    a detail that is considered insignificant
    “Okay, well...for starters, she’s not your girlfriend. And also, she’s already getting married.”
    “Minor technicalities.”
  16. aneurysm
    an abnormal bulge caused by weakening of an artery wall
    Then one day he has a brain aneurysm and dies.
  17. artery
    a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body
    The nerve endings and veins and arteries carefully attaching his head to his body were firing and pulsating and pumping with a renewed sense of opportunity and fervor.
  18. fervor
    feelings of great warmth and intensity
    The nerve endings and veins and arteries carefully attaching his head to his body were firing and pulsating and pumping with a renewed sense of opportunity and fervor.
  19. levelheaded
    exercising or showing good judgment
    He seemed so levelheaded and calm.
  20. bludgeon
    strike with a club
    Cate looked like she’d just witnessed someone being bludgeoned to death. In a sense, she had. It was me...I had been bludgeoned to death by this moment.
  21. monotone
    an unchanging intonation
    “Man,” Rodrigo said in a monotone from the stage.
  22. convulse
    shake uncontrollably
    Then I stood up and punched him right in the face just as Rodrigo held up his maraca and started convulsing on the stage.
  23. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    “Hey, Travis? I don’t think it really matters if you know how to exist.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I don’t think any of us do.”
    “Then what are we doing?”
    “I don’t know. We’re just meandering.”
  24. repent
    turn away from sin or do penitence
    YOU ARE A SIGN OF THE END TIMES. REPENT!
  25. waiver
    a formal written statement of relinquishment
    Before he died, Jeremy Pratt and his parents signed a waiver stating that the Saranson Center for Life Preservation could transport his corpse from a hospital in Quincy, Illinois, to Denver, Colorado.
  26. pessimistic
    expecting the worst possible outcome
    “It’ll probably just be a letdown to everyone. Sprinkle some ashes, say a few words, then drive home. Done and done."
    “You know, for someone who got brought back to life, you sure are pessimistic.”
  27. inscription
    letters engraved or carved on something
    I looked down at the inscription etched into the shiny, deep purple-stained concrete headstone. Jeremy Lee Pratt: Beloved son and brother.
  28. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    It was hard not to laugh, but the solemn looks on their faces kept me from it.
  29. feeble
    lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality
    She looked over at me, and I looked back at her as I took a deep breath and managed a feeble smile.
  30. pulsate
    move with or as if with a regular alternating motion
    There’s just the chaotic pulsating of blue and green and yellow lights accompanying the loud music.
Created on Wed Oct 05 15:49:18 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Oct 06 12:50:15 EDT 2023)

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