Sometimes the Girl: Chapters 9–16

by Jennifer Mason-Black
Teenager Holiday Burton, who is struggling with big, traumatic issues in her life, takes a job with the elderly author Elsie McAllister. The secrets she uncovers in Elsie's attic will change her life.

Here are links to our lists for the book:

Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–16, Chapters 17–24, Chapters 25–33, Chapters 34–Epilogue.
15 words 5 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. anarchist
    an advocate of the abolition of governments
    Founded by relics from the nineties rave scene, Secret House is a nomadic party, a pulsing heart circulating college kids and gig workers, anarchists and nonprofit grant writers, little kids carried in backpacks or front packs and dancing just outside the doors on their fathers’ feet.
  2. gentrified
    renovated to conform to middle-class expectations
    Some of these old structures hang on to existence by the merest of threads; some house the foodie class in gentrified splendor.
  3. girder
    a beam used as a main support in a structure
    This one appears to be headed down that road, girders in the parking lot and scaffolding along one side.
  4. home in
    direct onto a target, especially by navigational aids
    I home in on him with the focus of a spotter in a fire tower.
  5. inexorable
    impossible to prevent, resist, or stop
    Robin’s voice travels like the tide, inexorable.
  6. transient
    remaining or working in a place for only a brief time
    “Just so I understand: you’re saying we need to find one Dutch woman named Noa in a general population of transient students, many of whom are of international origin?”
  7. narcissist
    someone who is excessively self-centered
    “No one wants a story about a girl living all alone who evolves into a dragon. Where are your three acts? Your hero’s journey? This is more of a narcissist’s diary. Let me make a list of writers you should read and appreciate if you ever want to write anything of value.”
  8. posterity
    all future generations
    “She has this idea that someone is trying to steal her writing. Of course, no one is. All we want is to preserve her papers. For posterity.”
  9. ill-advised
    without careful prior deliberation or counsel
    “We’re afraid that she might do something . . . ill-advised with them. Because she’s not of sound mind.”
  10. ruefully
    in a manner expressing pain or sorrow
    He laughs ruefully.
  11. inclination
    an attitude of mind that favors one alternative over others
    “Do you imagine I’ll be better soon, that I’ll suddenly have the time and inclination to read them all?”
  12. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    “Was your book lies?” How cynical would you have to be to write something you don’t believe in and then live off the money you make from it?
  13. kitsch
    excessively gaudy or sentimental art
    Today my excavation hits a thick layer of kitsch. One whole box of coffee table books, none of them signed.
  14. aftermath
    the consequences of an event, especially a catastrophic one
    Thanks to climate change, I’ve seen plenty of pictures of the aftermath of fires.
  15. sustenance
    a source of food or nourishment
    Writing eats channels in there, a ravenous worm searching for sustenance.
Created on Tue Mar 31 05:26:39 EDT 2026 (updated Mon May 04 19:27:14 EDT 2026)

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