The Jake Show: Chapters 11–16

by Joshua S. Levy
Torn between his divorced parents, thirteen-year-old Jacob Lightman imagines himself as different characters in a television show, but in reality, he wants to leave Florida to have fun with his friends at a Jewish summer camp in New York.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–10, Chapters 11–16, Chapters 17–26
35 words 14 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. tumult
    a state of commotion and noise and confusion
    You’ve earned this break from all the tumult. I’m so proud of you for how you’ve handled everything with me and your father, for agreeing to go to Camp Yiddishkeit.
  2. upstanding
    meriting respect or esteem
    “How wonderful! Yaakov, you didn’t tell me you had such upstanding boys at your school this year. It makes me feel so much better to know you two will be together.”
  3. punctuality
    the quality or habit of adhering to an appointed time
    “But we should go. Can’t miss our flight!”
    My dad sighed. “Fine. Kids today and your punctuality! Let us walk you to security.”
  4. mortified
    made to feel uncomfortable because of shame or wounded pride
    “I’ve really got to go. I’ll be right back. Please. Terrible poops.”
    Tehilla barked out a laugh and my dad shot me a look of horror—mortified that I’d say such a thing in front of the lady.
  5. ensemble
    a coordinated outfit (set of clothing)
    I flew into the far bathroom and whipped my wrinkled yeshiva clothes out of my backpack. T-shirt off. White button-down on. Sneakers off. Dress shoes on. Glasses off. Yarmulke and hat to complete the ensemble.
  6. alcove
    a small recess opening off a large room or garden
    Shmuel spoke first—but not before pulling me backward, into the alcove shielding the bathroom doors from view of the larger terminal.
  7. manipulate
    influence or control shrewdly or deviously
    “I have to say—I’m shocked. All the lying? The manipulating? I’m also more than a little hurt that you didn’t think you could at least tell me what was going on.”
  8. gloat
    dwell on with satisfaction
    “They’re both too busy gloating to themselves. Marc thinks he finally got through to you. That he inspired you to go to science camp.”
  9. turnpike
    an expressway on which tolls are collected
    I loved it, along with every second of the four-hour drive to camp: The bumper-to-bumper traffic leading out of New York City, Amir honking at everything that moved. The soggy tuna and egg salad sandwiches we ate at a turnpike rest stop.
  10. hyperventilate
    breathe excessively hard and fast
    Tehilla caught me hyperventilating, so she pulled Noah’s headphones off his ears and said, “Hey, Steifel, listen. Jake’s parents don’t know he’s spending the summer at Gershoni and it’d be bad if they found out. Don’t say anything to anyone about Jake being here, okay?”
  11. determined
    characterized by great firmness of purpose
    I talked to them all, determined to binge-watch this summer for all it was worth. I’d meet everyone. Do everything. I wasn’t going to waste a single moment.
  12. trudge
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    The guard trudged out of the booth—gravel crunching beneath his feet—and squinted into the bus’s headlights.
  13. decibel
    a unit of sound intensity
    The volume shot back up a hundred decibels: “Apologies, campers, and to you, Camp Director Akiva ‘You Deserve Our Respect’ Seidenfeld.”
  14. spontaneous
    said or done without having been planned in advance
    The place exploded. Cheers and claps. Cries of “Gershoni forever!” Spontaneous outbreaks of the secret handshake.
  15. sentry
    a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
    Director Seidenfeld pointed to the back of the room, where Amir stood sentry behind an empty tray of pancakes.
  16. hearty
    showing warm and sincere friendliness
    Please give a hearty welcome to Rabbi Eliyahu Allenby.
  17. montage
    a film sequence made by editing together a series of separate scenes or shots
    The first two weeks of camp passed like a training montage in a sports movie: too quick, mostly highlights, and often set to music my grandparents would have exercised to in 1985.
  18. blare
    make a loud noise
    They blared it from the speakers to wake us up, whenever they managed to keep Gilad Popper away from the morning announcements.
  19. char
    burn slightly and superficially so as to affect color
    Another scene: Me, Caleb, and Tehilla—swaying together around the campfire. Charred marshmallows pierced on branches picked from the dirt.
  20. devolve
    grow worse
    And another: Me, Caleb, and Tehilla—an outdoor art session devolving into a four-bunk paint fight. Grass splashed with blue and red and purple.
  21. careen
    move at high speed and in an uncontrolled way
    “You know it!” Shira P. agreed, smacking the ball with her fist. It careened into a corner, bouncing against one wall, then another, like a perfectly aligned pool shot.
  22. synchronicity
    the relation that exists when things occur at the same time
    Behind Caleb and Tehilla, the Sternberg twins gave me hand-slicing-across-the-neck—“You’re dead.”—gestures in perfect synchronicity.
  23. pry
    inquire in an uninvited or presumptuous manner
    “Unless...Jake, is there some reason why you don’t want your parents coming for Visiting Day? I don’t want to pry. But I hope you know that you could share any issues with me.”
  24. crucial
    of extreme importance; vital to the resolution of a crisis
    After years of fibbing my way around people’s feelings, I’d learned a few crucial lessons: if it isn’t at least a little complicated, it sounds fake. Perfect stories aren’t real.
  25. profound
    showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
    “Yeah,” Rabbi Allenby breathed out, like I’d said something profound. He was with me. On my side. Unsuspicious.
  26. anticipate
    regard something as probable or likely
    It rang again.
    “Sorry,” I said, anticipating no answer. “She’s probably busy.”
  27. static
    crackling or hissing noise caused by electrical interference
    “I’m assistant director here at Camp Gershoni. Jake’s in my office.”
    A pause. A bit of static.
  28. deposition
    a pretrial interrogation of a witness
    Sorry. You broke...there for a... We’re traveling. Kayla...with me to a deposition I was supposed to...tomorrow on the West...out of it. The reception’s a bit spotty here.
  29. infuse
    fill, as with a certain quality
    “We’re extremely proud of our camp yiddishkeit. It infuses everything we do here.”
  30. flabbergasted
    as if struck dumb with astonishment and surprise
    Rabbi Allenby stared at me, flabbergasted. “I don’t know what to say. Is this true?”
  31. modest
    marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself
    “He’s being modest,” my mom said. “Every time he writes to me, they’ve made more and more progress. It’s a real accomplishment.”
  32. defiance
    intentionally contemptuous behavior or attitude
    “Are you really only picking Shiras?” someone shouted from the back of the room. In defiance, Shira P. put her hands on her hips, laughed, and picked Shira G. next.
  33. stagger
    walk as if unable to control one's movements
    Tehilla staggered backward, like the ground was shaking beneath her.
  34. audit
    an inspection of accounting procedures and records
    We...missed a tax payment this year. As director, I take responsibility for the mistake. The result is that the government is coming to camp for a full audit.
  35. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    She and Caleb were reading a poster that had materialized on the wall.
Created on Wed Jun 05 15:41:48 EDT 2024 (updated Thu Jun 06 11:51:48 EDT 2024)

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