The Collectors: List 3

by A.S. King, Anna-Marie McLemore, Randy Ribay, David Levithan, Jenny Torres Sanchez, G. Neri, Jason Reynolds, M.T. Anderson
In ten young adult stories by different authors, characters reveal their personalities through descriptions of items in collections that are important to them.

This list covers “Museum of Misery” by Cory McCarthy–“La Concha” by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo.

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
30 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. patriarchy
    a form of social organization in which men hold power
    [Content warning: violence, guns, hate culture, bigots, assault, patriarchy, #metoo, homophobia, transphobia, hate crime, abuse, genocide, fatphobia, mankind, assassinations, the unsinkable American dream, and more of the same]
  2. orientation
    position or alignment relative to points of the compass
    Note: this story is best viewed locked in portrait orientation.
  3. stanchion
    any vertical post or rod used as a support
    there is no line outside the Museum of Misery
    only a picket of stanchions
  4. docent
    a guide who leads others on a tour
    The docent is your mother
    “Back again so soon?”
  5. iconic
    relating to a symbolic figure
    John Lennon didn’t die
    in iconic oval specs
  6. requisite
    necessary for relief or supply
    That requisite Titanic piece
    In every museum
    National metaphor of America
    Post-iceberg, pre-tragedy
    Full steam ahead toward bisection
  7. bigot
    a prejudiced person who is intolerant of differing opinions
    There is no such thing as trans rights. They're called human rights, and everyone gets them. Or you are a bigot.
  8. renovate
    restore to a previous or better condition
    If you're interested in renovating your own museum of misery, I highly suggest the help of a licensed mental health counselor.
  9. curator
    the custodian of a collection, as a museum or library
    You are the curator of your own mind.
  10. delicate
    exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing
    Jars of black and blue crayons, sewing needles, delicate thread. Jars of torn-out pages from books my mother read.
  11. cremate
    reduce to ashes
    She’s dead. Not like traditional dead. Six feet deep in an overpriced coffin or cremated and collected inside a beveled jar or a used Bustelo can.
  12. regard
    judge to be
    Today He’s receiving an award from people who regard Him as a model citizen.
  13. resent
    feel bitter or indignant about
    His dad—my stepdad—resented my brother the minute he picked up a shovel instead of a football scholarship.
  14. juxtapose
    place side by side
    Mrs. Joyless waits for me to start reading my poem juxtaposing the institution of family and marriage.
  15. apathy
    an absence of emotion or enthusiasm
    The word APATHY flickers on in the eyes of the kids watching me, only I don’t know what it means because it was on a quiz I never studied for.
  16. institution
    a custom that has been an important feature of some group
    And this is a poem I never tried to write because the institution of family and marriage isn’t something I can write about.
  17. striation
    a band or bands of contrasting color
    I look at the blank paper in my hand, and just before I sit down and take the zero, I think about the striations of amber, rust, and tangerine wrapping the outside of the conch shell.
  18. mangle
    alter so as to make unrecognizable
    She mangles my name in her mouth like she’s chewing rusty thumbtacks.
  19. commerce
    transactions supplying goods and services
    Commerce is one thing
    but greed divides.
  20. refined
    cultivated and genteel
    He’s refined. Smooth. Seventh grade last time in regular school, but smarter than most dudes.
  21. scuff
    mar or wear away by rubbing or scraping
    He holds a scuffed peso between his nub of a thumb and bandaged index finger.
  22. timbre
    the distinctive property of a complex sound
    I close the curtains in my mind. Pretend I can’t feel His voice vault across the kitchen table, scale the length of my back. The timbre of each word hooks into my spine.
  23. turret
    a self-contained weapons platform housing guns
    I have been building a tank since my sister went missing. A tank minus the gun turret. I have no use for a weapon like that.
  24. fawn
    try to gain favor through flattery or deferential behavior
    I strategically place myself in the farthest corner from everyone fawning over The Model Citizen.
  25. kindling
    material for starting a fire
    My jars of snow globes, kindling, my first baby tooth, a seedling—of everything and nothing—fill the stands, circle the track, and flank around me.
  26. flank
    be located at the sides of something or somebody
    My jars of snow globes, kindling, my first baby tooth, a seedling—of everything and nothing—fill the stands, circle the track, and flank around me.
  27. lush
    produced or growing in extreme abundance
    She steps onto the lush spring-green Bermuda grass.
  28. hull
    the frame or body of a ship
    I climb out of the hull.
  29. hemorrhage
    lose blood from one's body
    Parts of myself everywhere. Hemorrhaging, and I don’t have a surgeon not surgeon to stitch me back together.
  30. writhe
    move in a twisting or contorted motion
    My brother and I watch Him writhe. Mumble.
Created on Wed Apr 03 10:40:53 EDT 2024 (updated Thu Apr 04 11:47:39 EDT 2024)

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