We Deserve Monuments: List 5

by Jas Hammonds
When seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson moves from Washington, D.C. to a small town in Georgia, she encounters conflicts linked to painful family secrets.

This list covers "The Runaway"–"The Monuments."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
35 words 5 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. oppressive
    weighing heavily on the senses or spirit
    It was one thing to be pushed into the world without a choice at Bardell County General; it was another to consider the oppressive heat, the deeply racist past, and the rural Walmart sprawl, and decide for yourself that it was worth sticking around.
  2. mote
    a tiny piece of anything
    She was merely a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.
  3. stifle
    smother or suppress
    A group of freshmen, doing a horrible job of pretending they weren’t eavesdropping, stifled giggles as they walked by.
  4. drab
    lacking brightness or color; dull
    Dad’s eyes sparkled. Against the drab parking lot and gray sky, they held a warmth I didn’t know I needed.
  5. buoy
    uplift or give encouragement to
    There was a pinch of irritation that this was yet another thing Mom had kept from me for so long, but it was buoyed by Ray’s smile.
  6. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    We left Bardell with all the windows down, highway unfurling before us like a possibility.
  7. endeavor
    earnest and conscientious activity intended to do something
    Halfway through the ride, Dad tried to start a singalong, an endeavor that was promptly squashed when Mama Letty said his voice was going to accelerate her journey to the grave.
  8. quaint
    attractively old-fashioned
    Dad pulled into the driveway of a quaint light blue cottage overlooking the white sand beach.
  9. indulge
    yield to; give satisfaction to
    Mama Letty indulged us in stories about her and Ray and how they used to dance to Sam Cooke.
  10. transfixed
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    When I returned, Mom and Mama Letty were still staring at the ocean, transfixed.
  11. palpable
    capable of being perceived
    Now, we were out in the open and the final chapter of Mama Letty's life was palpable under the infinite sky.
  12. audacity
    aggressive or outright boldness
    “He woulda respected your audacity,” Mama Letty said. “Ray always respected anyone going against the grind. Anyone with an attitude, Ray was determined to melt.”
  13. apparition
    a ghostly appearing figure
    Her vibrant purple dress resembled a glowing apparition on the dark, empty beach.
  14. comeback
    a quick reply to a question or remark
    I held my breath for the comeback, for the fire that was sure to follow.
  15. turret
    a small tower extending above a building
    “I think Grandpa Ray deserves better than this sad castle,” I said, placing another shell on a leaning turret.
  16. buffer
    someone who shields you from something harmful or annoying
    Still, I knew the water would eventually creep up again and claim the castle for itself, even if I stayed there all night and used myself as a buffer.
  17. medley
    a musical composition consisting of a series of songs
    I wrapped myself in the blanket like a burrito and stayed on the ground, staring up at them as Sam sang through his medleys.
  18. disoriented
    having lost your bearings
    Two nights later, Mom found Mama Letty wandering in the kitchen at three a.m., dizzy and disoriented.
  19. amiss
    in an improper or mistaken manner
    Amelia was the only one who noticed something amiss, and that was only because it was personal—her husband and his mistress, resurfacing after an hour with flushed cheeks and tussled hair, as if they’d emerged from the ocean.
  20. transgression
    the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle
    This particular transgression hurt Amelia more than all the others because Lucas knew how much this night meant to her.
  21. don
    put on clothes
    We found a pair of sunglasses with one of the lenses missing, and we cackled with laughter when Mom donned them and sang along to Isaac Hayes’s “Theme from Shaft.”
  22. consistent
    steady and reliable in performance or behavior
    “A true Mama Letty response. At least she’s consistent.”
    She pushed a curl away from my face. “Consistent until the end.”
  23. solemnly
    in a serious and dignified manner
    “Let us not forget,” Dad said solemnly from the Formica table.
  24. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    I gingerly placed the photos by her side.
  25. disheveled
    in disarray; extremely disorderly
    Dad arrived, out of breath. Sweat shone on his forehead, and his hair was disheveled.
  26. apt
    being of striking appropriateness and relevance
    If there was ever an apt description of life in Bardell County, Georgia, one only had to look to the slow-moving waters in their backyard.
  27. demeanor
    the way a person behaves toward other people
    Excitement shattered my cool demeanor, my grief. I threw my arms around her in a huge hug.
  28. squabble
    argue over petty things
    At the front, Mr. Arnie and Jerome squabbled over who would get the last slice of pound cake, neither of them believing when the caterer said a second cake was on the way.
  29. enticing
    highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire
    “A night at the Perfect Spot does sound enticing,” I said. I could already hear the river and feel Tree’s sturdiness beneath me. “I guess I’m in need of some wishing, too.”
  30. brooch
    a decorative pin
    Mom tenderly adjusted the gold brooch on her emerald-green dress. It was the fanciest thing I’d ever seen her wear.
  31. paparazzo
    a freelance photographer who pursues celebrities
    When she returned, Simone and I smiled wide in a variety of different poses, Dad in the background pretending to be the paparazzi.
  32. integrate
    open up to members of all races and ethnic groups
    The last one was for Gloria Mitchell, the first Black student to integrate the public high school.
  33. annihilation
    destruction by obliterating something
    She knew from her time working in national forests that sometimes things required an annihilation in order to renew themselves.
  34. embedded
    enclosed firmly in a surrounding mass
    Eighty miles away, on the shores of Kisabee Island, grains of sand that once stood in honor of Raymond Harding became so embedded in the fabric of the beach that they never really left.
  35. testament
    strong evidence for something
    Or maybe, she was waiting for someone to cross the frosted dead winter grass and knock on her foggy window so she could write her testament in the condensation. Telling whoever wanted to witness, See me.
Created on Thu Sep 21 16:20:58 EDT 2023 (updated Tue Oct 03 14:21:43 EDT 2023)

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