Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear: Chapters 14–17

by Robin Wasley
In this novel, high school student Sid lives in a magical town that's normally safe, but when someone triggers an apocalypse, she has to help halt it while looking for her missing brother.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1-4, Chapters 5-8, Chapters 9-13, Chapters 14-17, Chapters 18-21
15 words 11 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. compartmentalize
    keep separate; separate into isolated categories
    “It’s like a file drawer. The other day, I compartmentalized my fear, filed it under ‘Only access this when it is in my best interest.’
  2. dichotomy
    a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses
    But that shyness disappeared when she stood on a stage to sing. When she sang, she was loud and expressive and confident. Maybe with magic, there wouldn’t have been a dichotomy.
  3. reminiscent
    serving to bring to mind
    Eleni motions to the sink. “Put your hair in there.”
    Because my hair is reminiscent of those fluorescent-haired troll dolls, I do so.
  4. hallucinate
    have illusions; perceive what is not actually there
    I only slept a few fitful hours last night under the bleachers and now I’m hallucinating.
  5. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    I take a tentative step and the sound comes again, this time with a clank.
  6. stoic
    seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
    “He’s very stoic.”
  7. cajole
    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
    “One or two more songs,” they cajole.
  8. stalwart
    possessing or displaying courage
    The straight, rigid lines of their bodies, the way I realize they both held themselves—stalwart in a hurricane—have released.
  9. slew
    a large number or amount or extent
    She shakes a slew of jelly beans into her palm, placing seven, each a different color, at different locations on the map’s surface.
  10. insurmountable
    impossible to overcome
    There’s an issue. Not insurmountable.
  11. plaintive
    expressing sorrow
    A bow draws long plaintive notes on a few strings, a melody echoing inside my chest, a little sweet and a little painful.
  12. incorporeal
    without material form or substance
    “I would know if I could become both invisible and incorporeal. I’ve been here this entire time.”
  13. trivialize
    make insignificant
    “But you already know I don’t. That’s why you trivializing it is worse.”
  14. retrospect
    contemplation of things past
    That didn’t work out great in retrospect.
  15. fervor
    feelings of great warmth and intensity
    “They will know me,” he agrees with quiet fervor.
Created on Fri Dec 05 06:45:45 EST 2025 (updated Thu Jan 08 17:10:33 EST 2026)

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