You Go First: Part II

by Erin Entrada Kelly
Twelve-year old Charlotte Lockard lives in Pennsylvania while eleven-year-old Benjamin Boxer lives in Louisiana, but they connect through an online Scrabble game and their shared troubles.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part I, Part II, Part III, Parts IV–VI
30 words 19 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. gauche
    lacking social poise or refinement
    gauche adj: unsophisticated and socially awkward
  2. whim
    a sudden desire
    He’d only just decided to run yesterday, after all. And it was completely on a whim.
  3. perspective
    appearance as determined by distance from the viewer
    “She keeps coming over and telling me my lines aren’t straight or my design isn’t big enough or the circumference of whatever isn’t in perspective.”
  4. subjective
    taking place within the mind and modified by individual bias
    “I thought art was supposed to be subjective.”
  5. conceited
    having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
    “And what annoys me most,” continued Bridget, “is that Mrs. LaPira doesn’t do anything. She’s, like, this awesome artist, but she never says, ‘Tori, go back to your seat, you irritating, conceited gnat.’”
  6. diabolic
    extremely evil or cruel
    “Did you know Victoria Baraldi scrambles to diabolic?” said Charlotte.
  7. clique
    an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
    “I just thought, since she’s part of the egghead clique...”
    “Well, I’m part of the anti- clique.”
  8. awning
    a canvas canopy to shelter people or things from rain or sun
    Red’s was named for the red awning in front. It was an after-school hangout for people like Sophie Seong and her friends.
  9. mortify
    cause to feel shame
    Once Charlotte closed the door, Bridget said what both of them were thinking: “I like your dad and everything, but...he can’t come. He just can’t. It will be mortifying. MOR-TEE-FYE-ING.”
  10. trove
    a valuable collection or treasure found hidden
    In elementary school, Bridget had thought Charlotte’s parents were an unending trove of interesting stories.
  11. succession
    a following of one thing after another in time
    “Oooh, Theo, that was awesome,” the other boys said, in succession.
  12. logistic
    relating to necessary details of operation
    Zombies technically didn’t have brains, so they would fail miserably in a battle of wits, logistically speaking.
  13. attribute
    credit to
    If Ben ever encountered a zombie, he’d repeat the famous quote attributed to Shakespeare: “I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see that you are unarmed.”
  14. personable
    pleasant in manner and appearance
    “Hi,” he said, as cheerfully as possible. Channel your inner President Carter, he told himself. Friendly and personable.
  15. sustain
    supply with necessities and support
    Pluto could never sustain complex life forms, much less humans.
  16. persistence
    steady determination
    Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.
  17. stifle
    conceal or hide
    She huffed and not-so-casually stifled a laugh with her closed fist.
  18. glare
    look at with a fixed or angry gaze
    “Also,” Sherry continued, glaring at him. “That whole running-for-president thing? And wanting our vote? Not. Likely.”
  19. irrefutable
    impossible to deny or disprove
    When they both got A lunch, they attributed it to the irrefutable powers of Egyptian quartz.
  20. unfettered
    not bound or restrained, as by shackles and chains
    His knee, trying to contain all the unfettered enthusiasm of a man with a plan, bobbed up and down, and before he could stop himself, he sprang from his seat and stood next to his desk.
  21. finesse
    subtly skillful handling of a situation
    He typically kept his eyes ahead, listening to the lecture, taking notes, disappearing into his mind, which operated with much more finesse than the minds of other eleven-year-olds.
  22. thrum
    make or cause to make a low, continuous sound
    A wave of quiet snickers brushed over the classroom. Ben’s ears thrummed.
  23. tectonic
    pertaining to the structure or movement of the earth's crust
    Earthquakes occur when the earth's tectonic plates reach their maximum amount of stress following gradual friction. A rupture occurs, creating the quake.
  24. sensory
    involving or derived from the senses
    Charlotte knew that all of a starfish’s sensory information and memory went to its radial nerve, but her eyes were blurry, and a fat tear fell right where the answer should have been.
  25. makeshift
    done or made using whatever is available
    They stood there, father and son, silently looking at Ben’s makeshift outfits.
  26. hamper
    a basket usually with a cover
    He tossed the white shirt in the hamper, even though it wasn’t dirty.
  27. pumice
    a porous rock formed on the surface of some lavas
    Charlotte’s someday was at the base of a volcano or Egyptian pyramid, where she pulled obsidian and pumice from the dirt and studied them, used tiny brushes to clean specimens, took samples to a lab, and estimated the age of cliffs and mountains.
  28. lumber
    move heavily or clumsily
    Sergeant lumbered in and walked up to Charlotte.
  29. infuse
    fill, as with a certain quality
    “They should infuse gummy bears with xylitol.”
    “What’s xylitol?”
    “It’s a cavity-fighting additive,” said Ben.
  30. overwhelm
    overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
    At that moment, Ben was overwhelmed with an aching wish. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wished for something with such ferocity.
Created on Mon Feb 13 09:00:53 EST 2023 (updated Mon Feb 13 16:22:59 EST 2023)

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