Half Upon a Time: Chapters 1–9

by James Riley
This first book of the trilogy introduces a descendant of men who fought and robbed giants: fourteen-year-old Jack the thirteenth, who is unwillingly training to be a hero, until a girl falls out of the sky.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–18, Chapters 19–27, Chapters 28–36, Chapters 37–46
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. indignantly
    in a manner showing anger at something unjust or wrong
    “Hey!” Jack yelled indignantly. “You almost hit me!”
  2. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    “And as for you, little hero,” the witch said, “you will join your princess in death!” With that, she aimed a gnarled wand in Jack’s direction, shouted a magic word, and shot a bolt of lightning straight at him.
  3. frantically
    in an uncontrolled manner
    A fireball three times the size of the previous ones erupted from the ring and exploded into the witch’s chest, lighting her black robe on fire. The witch screamed in terror as she frantically tore at her flaming clothing.
  4. singe
    burn superficially or lightly
    The furious witch grabbed Jack by his shirt and pushed him against the wall, her eyes narrowed dangerously and her fake nose singed.
  5. glare
    look at with a fixed or angry gaze
    He quickly removed the magic ring and held it out to the woman. She glared at him for a second before grabbing it from his hand. Then she smacked him in the head.
  6. contented
    satisfied or showing satisfaction with things as they are
    She landed on his head, settled herself into his hair, and let out a contented sigh.
  7. giddy
    exultantly proud and joyful; in high spirits
    The old man noticed what Jack had seen, and he leapt into the air, almost giddy with excitement. “Jack, my boy!” he shouted. “You’ve done it, you’ve found one!”
  8. establish
    show the validity of something, as by example or explanation
    I think we’ve all established that no one’s asleep.
  9. fiasco
    a complete failure or collapse
    Jack glared at her, not really over the whole pinching fiasco.
  10. elaborate
    marked by complexity and richness of detail
    She pointed at the elaborate illustration of a man holding a golden harp, facing down a rampaging giant.
  11. unmarred
    free from physical or moral spots or stains
    “That’s my Grandma,” May said, her voice catching a bit.
    If she was, the woman certainly didn’t look the right age: Her face was perfect and beautiful, unmarred by any worry or smile lines.
  12. bearing
    characteristic way of holding one's body
    Despite May’s protests about not being a princess, this woman clearly had a royal bearing. In fact, she reminded Jack of nothing less than a queen, even in what looked to be a simple dressing gown.
  13. obscure
    make unclear or less visible
    Jack couldn’t tell much else about it, since most of the box was obscured beneath piles of books, clothes, and other items he didn’t recognize.
  14. furnish
    provide with objects or articles that make a room usable
    A picture slowly formed of a room more richly furnished than any Jack had ever seen. An enormous bed covered in linens filled most of the room, right next to the large wooden desk that May’s glowing square sat on.
  15. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    Though the May in the picture seemed oblivious to it, a small, familiar blue flame burned on the wall right behind her.
  16. ether
    a medium that was once thought to fill all space
    Jack nodded, then absently glanced over at the text, where words that May could barely remember drifted up from the ether.
  17. garbled
    lacking orderly continuity
    “And I called him some names,” May said.
    The book printed something garbled.
    “They weren’t the nicest names,” May admitted.
  18. grate
    a frame of iron bars to hold a fire
    "You said that already,” Jack said as he moved the wood in the fireplace aside. He levered up the grate beneath it with one hand, then reached in with the other and pulled out a bag covered with soot.
  19. grudgingly
    in a reluctant manner
    “Everyone, back up!” he shouted, pushing Robert and a few other boys away from the doorway so he and May could get out. The village boys grudgingly backed up, silently waiting to hear him speak.
  20. resounding
    characterized by loud, deep sound
    “Will someone shut him up?”
    A resounding thump answered his question, and the top of Justin’s head disappeared from within the group of boys.
  21. rile
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
    Samson here probably won’t bite...assuming you don’t get him all riled up like you did the last time.
  22. spite
    meanness or nastiness
    If there was a meaner, nastier animal within one hundred miles, George’s horse would have run it down out of spite, eaten it, then maybe stuffed it as some kind of trophy.
  23. naive
    lacking information or instruction
    All that stood between Jack, May, and a death by trampling were the thin leather reins held in his grandfather’s naive hands.
  24. cobbler
    a person who makes or repairs shoes
    That was back when I was working as a cobbler—and making a good living at it too, I might add. In fact, my shoes were the reason the elves took me prisoner: They were jealous!
  25. tendency
    a general direction in which something is inclined to move
    Magic was all well and good when it worked, but it had a tendency to go wrong just when you needed it the most.
  26. bridle
    headgear for a horse
    He sighed, took the bridle, and planted his feet, facing Samson. He took a deep breath and held the bridle out between his hands, then thrust it at the horse’s mouth.
  27. slate
    thin layers of rock used for roofing
    Every building in Giant’s Hand looked alike, each with a slate roof and wooden walls.
  28. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    Besides the schoolhouse and open-air market, there just wasn’t much else to do in the village—another none-too- subtle reminder for children to leave to find adventure when they were old enough.
  29. oblige
    provide a service or favor for someone
    Jack kicked Samson lightly to speed up, and the horse obliged, fairly bursting out of the village and up the path leading out of town as the last bit of sunlight faded away completely.
  30. compel
    force somebody to do something
    Though his horse did slow down, it wasn’t dumb enough to try what Samson had been magically compelled to do.
  31. unadulterated
    without qualification
    The cold, dead eyes came to life, their pure, unadulterated hatred focused straight ahead.
  32. disperse
    move away from each other
    We know they succeeded in defeating the Wicked Queen somehow, because all the Queen’s armies dispersed and the Great War ended.
  33. vulnerable
    capable of being wounded or hurt
    And she didn’t act like princesses in stories did—all useless and vulnerable and needing rescuing.
  34. frenzy
    state of violent mental agitation
    The feeling of sharp metal on his skin sent Jack into a terrified frenzy, and he frantically kicked out with both legs.
  35. indentation
    a concave cut or depression in a surface or edge
    And not only was her head empty, she now had an indentation in the shell where he’d kicked her. As Jack watched with horror, the dent slowly pushed back out with a nauseating pop.
  36. elicit
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    May quickly circled the ropes around the witch’s body, then pulled them tight, eliciting a groan from the groggy witch.
  37. practical
    concerned with actual use
    The oven was metal, probably for practical reasons, but the chimney above it seemed to be made of hard toffee.
  38. exasperated
    greatly annoyed; out of patience
    May gave him an exasperated look. “Are you kidding?” she said. “Don’t tell me you’re actually thinking of...Jack, you’re not going to eat any! After what the witch was going to do to you? Do you know how disgusting that is?!”
  39. queasy
    feeling nausea
    “What?” Jack asked, his stomach going queasy, and not from the frosting. “What was out there?”
  40. morsel
    a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
    “I know I said the girl was to be left alone, but mother’s changed her mind. Come untie us, and we shall feast on both of these delicious morsels!”
Created on Fri Apr 26 10:19:17 EDT 2024 (updated Sat Apr 27 11:14:33 EDT 2024)

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