The Collectors: List 4

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 “Pool Bandits” by Greg Neri–“We Are Looking for Home” by A.S. King.

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
40 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    Me and Alex and Bobby and Skeezer skating through the endless lonely blacktop roads that wound through the meandering low hills near where we lived.
  2. poseur
    a person who habitually pretends to be something he is not
    We rode the streets like poseurs until one day I was bombing down a hill and a car suddenly pulled out of a driveway right in front of me.
  3. murky
    cloudy, dirty, and difficult to see through
    The pool was oval, like a pill. It wasn’t deep, maybe six feet on the far end. It looked half-full of murky water.
  4. bail
    remove (water) from a vessel with a container
    I grabbed a bucket out of the garage, and this time, we just climbed over my fence. We stood on the lip of the pool, staring at the possibilities. We’d never bailed out a basement or a boat, let alone my neighbor’s pool.
  5. rancid
    having an offensive smell or taste
    “Is this kind of like stealing?” asked Alex.
    “Getting rid of rancid water sounds like a service to me,” said Skeezer.
  6. grubby
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt
    “Isn’t there a plug or something you pull, like in a bathtub?” asked Bobby.
    We looked at the grubby water and decided we’d pick short straws to find out.
  7. devise
    arrange by systematic planning and united effort
    We devised a system: one person would scoop water, hand it to the next guy, and he’d hand it to the next until someone up top grabbed it and poured the water into the bushes.
  8. siphon
    convey, draw off, or empty by or as if by a tube
    During the gas crisis two years ago, his brother, Rory, made him siphon gas out of someone’s tank.
  9. stoke
    increase or intensify an emotion or response
    After about ten minutes of sucking, Bobby spit up water and it came pouring out of his nose and mouth. It was funny as hell except we were so stoked that it worked.
  10. assessment
    the act of judging a person or situation or event
    Recon involved checking out backyards and making assessments (as any good detective knows). Sometimes, you could just peek over the back fence and make a judgment call.
  11. stagnant
    not circulating or flowing
    Maybe there were cement steps built into the pool wall, ruining the flow. Maybe the stagnant water was too nasty.
  12. trinket
    a small cheap ornament, knickknack, or piece of jewelry
    We had to steal one thing on the way through a house and not get caught. Something stupid, like a saltshaker or a trinket or a magazine.
  13. determine
    establish after a calculation, investigation, or experiment
    I didn’t think anyone saw me, but after we retrieved the Frisbee and determined the pool was a three (we’d devised a five-star rating system, one being pass, five being perfect), Alex pulled me aside and said, “You’re gonna share that, right?”
  14. casually
    not methodically or according to plan
    On the way back out, I casually checked the freezer hoping they’d have Fudgsicles or something.
  15. intrigue
    cause to be interested or curious
    I wasn’t interested in reading about her girl adventures, but the other stuff down there intrigued me.
  16. cul de sac
    a street with only one way in or out
    The house was on a cul-de-sac that had a supermarket behind it.
  17. divulge
    make known to the public information previously kept secret
    “How long are they going to be gone?” I asked.
    She paused, unsure if she was willing to divulge.
  18. unnerve
    disturb the composure of
    She looked a little unnerved but determined.
  19. mull
    reflect deeply on a subject
    She wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. Neither was I. She mulled it over a bit, but I could see her defenses weakening.
  20. confine
    to close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement
    I was confined to my room for a few weeks and had to get fake front teeth (which my dad says I will be paying off for the rest of my life) and get my nose straightened.
  21. accumulate
    collect or gather
    We have accumulated trillions of memories between us.
  22. amass
    collect or gather
    Amassed tragedies. Gathered all kinds of matter. Humans collect everything. We collect galaxies of information. We collect photographs. We collect the right thing to do in any situation. We collect the wrong things to do too.
  23. morose
    showing a brooding ill humor
    We mocked him for being so bad at humor / for being morose / for being cynical.
  24. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    We mocked him for being so bad at humor / for being morose / for being cynical.
  25. shun
    avoid and stay away from deliberately
    We think it’s because of how he can’t see how great he is on account of him having low self-esteem. Probably something to do with how we shunned him that one time freshman year.
  26. zygote
    a fertilized egg
    Forty million acorns. Forty million pupae. Forty million eggs. Forty million zygotes.
  27. covet
    wish, long, or crave for
    “Plus,” he says, “it’s not like I’m anything special.”
    He has no idea how much we covet his I’m.
  28. tenement
    a run-down apartment house barely meeting minimal standards
    We try so hard to be worthy of Jasper Miller’s rent-free tenements—stacked up like shoe boxes in a basement—nobody knows what we’ll be used for, but one day we will find out.
  29. inevitably
    in such a manner as could not be otherwise
    We try to have a good attitude, but inevitably, we aim low.
  30. faux
    not genuine or real
    Jasper Miller’s house is a brown-siding-covered split level with yellow faux shutters.
  31. spigot
    a regulator for controlling the flow of a liquid
    We hate him so much we taste blood—his blood—it’s what happens when we twist the spigot.
  32. inflection
    the modification of pitch, tone, or volume when speaking
    “No?” she answers, turning the inflection up at the end, like the tip of her nose.
  33. transfixed
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    As she talks, her hands move, and she’s excited to let him in on a secret. Jasper is transfixed. It’s as if no one else matters to the two of them.
  34. foyer
    a large entrance or reception room or area
    We start in the foyer of the school—right next to the main office.
  35. unanimous
    in complete agreement
    Home is never going to find us if we all can’t agree to be nice. It has to be a unanimous vote.
  36. tenant
    someone who pays rent to use property owned by someone else
    Later that day, Jasper Miller offers, as standard, to his forty million tenants, full cable TV, internet, and all utilities paid.
  37. shyster
    a person who uses unscrupulous or unethical methods
    ALL ARE WELCOME. WE LOVE OUR HOME. There are pillows with our last name / zip code / dog’s breed on it.
    “What a shyster,” we say.
  38. predicament
    an unpleasant or difficult situation
    We trickle through the sewers and back to our own predicament.
  39. gale
    a strong wind moving 34–40 knots
    The exhale causes gale-force wind. It pulls pieces of us away from ourselves.
  40. teem
    move in large numbers
    We teem through the stairwells and ventilation and up through the balcony railings. Forty million evictees waiting for love, just once to feel tenderness.
Created on Wed Apr 03 10:41:03 EDT 2024 (updated Thu Apr 04 14:15:23 EDT 2024)

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