Eight Nights of Flirting: Chapters 1–4

by Hannah Reynolds
During a Hanukkah vacation on the island of Nantucket, sixteen-year-old Shira Barbanel makes a deal with Tyler Nelson to give her flirting lessons in exchange for an introduction to her media executive great-uncle.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–13, Chapters 14–17, Chapters 18–23
40 words 16 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. indifference
    the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care
    I watched him from the corner of my eye, feigning indifference as I brushed away the snow clinging to my coat from crossing the tarmac.
  2. mote
    a tiny piece of anything
    The wind—which had spurred nerve-racking turbulence—howled like a lone wolf given wild, maniacal form by motes of snow.
  3. subtlety
    the quality of being difficult to detect or analyze
    Mom lacked even the smallest drop of subtlety.
  4. sporadically
    in an irregular or unpredictable manner
    I’d met Isaac—my great-uncle’s nineteen-year-old intern—sporadically over the last year, at family and company events.
  5. blatantly
    in a completely obvious manner
    Also, while I was blatantly ignoring him, I found it insulting that he so easily ignored me.
  6. relentless
    not willing or able to stop or yield
    Mocked him relentlessly in an attempt at flirting. Made him cry and leave for home early.
  7. rebuff
    reject outright and bluntly
    Spent four summers madly in love with him, only to finally make a move and be utterly, devastatingly rebuffed.
  8. bleak
    unpleasantly cold and damp
    But today, a nor’easter had swept the Eastern Seaboard with the reckless speed of Elsa icing Arendelle, painting the world white—even Nantucket, where the sea usually whipped the island wet and bleak.
  9. quaint
    attractively old-fashioned
    The island already had a quaint, old-timey atmosphere, and winter just heightened it.
  10. stark
    severely simple
    This was my favorite season on Nantucket: I loved the stark, cold beauty, the snowy beaches and brilliant stars.
  11. monolith
    a single great stone, often in the form of a column
    The lawn was a sheet of white, the bushes snowy heaps, and the house—usually an elegant beauty—a blank monolith under the darkening sky.
  12. trundle
    move slowly or heavily
    “We’ll wait to make sure he gets in all right,” Phil said as Tyler trundled to the front door, then stepped inside.
  13. deign
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
    Surely he wouldn’t deign to suggest...
  14. abut
    lie adjacent to another or share a boundary
    Tyler’s moms’ summer home abutted my family’s ancestral property, the sprawling estate of Golden Doors, so the ride took a scant minute.
  15. scant
    less than the correct or legal or full amount
    Tyler’s moms’ summer home abutted my family’s ancestral property, the sprawling estate of Golden Doors, so the ride took a scant minute.
  16. advent
    arrival that has been awaited
    Five and a half years ago, when I was a foolish eleven-year-old, I discovered crushes. I’d never had one before, though I’d watched my classmates giggling about kissing, all fascinated by the bewildering and unstoppable advent of puberty.
  17. abstract
    a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance
    I understood in the abstract but didn’t relate.
  18. indelible
    not able to be forgotten, removed, or erased
    The world slowed so each indelible second could be printed on my soul.
  19. nuance
    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
    I had no shame, chasing Tyler with all the nuance of a six-year-old who thought her parents couldn’t tell when she lied.
  20. eddy
    a miniature whirlpool or whirlwind
    Snow swirled in glittering eddies around his feet.
  21. aloof
    distant, cold, or detached in manner
    Or because they read my demeanor as aloof and cool—at least according to one girl I’d overheard in the school bathroom—when really I was just awkward and silent.
  22. tempestuous
    characterized by violent emotions or behavior
    The snow continued to fall, the mounds outside shaped by tempestuous wind.
  23. palpable
    capable of being perceived
    Tyler kept at my back, his footsteps silent, his presence palpable.
  24. emboss
    raise in a relief
    After that, he picked up an embossed box and turned it in his hands.
  25. flush
    turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame
    I peeked at Tyler, flushing.
  26. casually
    in an unconcerned manner
    I couldn’t believe he’d so casually bring up the most excruciating moment of my life.
  27. disdain
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I guess I got whiplash, going from years of adoration to years of disdain.”
  28. fleeting
    lasting for a markedly brief time
    His eyes narrowed fleetingly, but then he flashed me the grin I’d spent years adoring.
  29. tendril
    something long, light, slender, and often curling
    I took a large swallow of tea, which burned down my throat and spread tendrils of warmth through my chest.
  30. tactile
    of or relating to or proceeding from the sense of touch
    “I’m a tactile person,” he said offhandedly. “When I was little and my moms took me shopping, I used to touch all the fabric in the stores.”
  31. intersperse
    place between or among
    Abandoned furniture was interspersed with the storage: a rocking chair and horse, a few old lamps, a mirror.
  32. pique
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    My interest was instantly piqued.
  33. interminable
    tiresomely long; seemingly without end
    Sometimes I was so bored, and the afternoons stretched interminably, filled with homework and papers and studying.
  34. eclectic
    combining or composed of elements drawn from a variety of sources
    An eclectic mix filled the jar: small white shells and large, colorful fans—rather like the gray scallops I often saw here but with the gold and orange of a sunset.
  35. bracing
    refreshing or invigorating
    I took a bracing sip of the Godiva.
  36. sprig
    a small branch or stem, usually with leaves or flowers
    We filled vases with ornaments and sprigs of eucalyptus spray-painted white and placed dried bouquets of blue baby’s breath in slim glass containers.
  37. dredge
    search the bottom of a body of water for something valuable
    I dredged my brain on the off chance answers had been caught in the nooks and crevices over the years.
  38. exacting
    requiring precise accuracy
    I was into patterns, Grandma liked alternating, and Noah was exacting, though one year he did all orange candles on the eighth night, and I still hadn’t forgiven him.
  39. reedy
    thin and high-pitched in tone
    “Barukh ata Adonai,” I sang, intimately aware of my thin, reedy voice alone in the silence.
  40. warble
    sing or play with trills
    Still, I carried on, warbling on some notes, breaking on others.
Created on Mon May 15 10:52:22 EDT 2023 (updated Mon May 15 15:25:59 EDT 2023)

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