Hungry Bones: Before–Chapter 6

by Louise Hung
Teenagers Jade and Molly live in the same house in Texas — except Jade is a ghost. Because Molly can communicate with Jade, they become friends and help each other, especially with their relationships with their mothers.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Before–Chapter 6, Chapters 7–20, Chapters 21–33, Chapters 34–52, Chapters 53–After
15 words 15 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. apt
    being of striking appropriateness and relevance
    Rolling around below me like so many sticks and stones are loose items of various sizes: long, short, round, angular, tiny, as big as my head—a description I shortly realize is alarmingly apt.
  2. contour
    any spatial attributes, especially as defined by outline
    In the blackness, my fingers follow the contours of the rock, finding several holes and crags. Smooth pebbles lodged in a crevice…
  3. reverie
    absentminded dreaming while awake
    Mom snaps me out of my moody reverie, ogling Buckeye Creek like it’s Bel-Air.
  4. drab
    lacking brightness or color; dull
    The hulking Victorian-style houses that seem drab and tired now still have ornate stained glass windows peeking out from over doors or from high-up attics.
  5. ornate
    marked by complexity and richness of detail
    The hulking Victorian-style houses that seem drab and tired now still have ornate stained glass windows peeking out from over doors or from high-up attics.
  6. diaphanous
    so thin as to transmit light
    I don’t know if she just saw the partially eaten baked good hovering in midair or if she actually saw some diaphanous, spectral vision of me, but Miranda’s artificially tanned skin turned pale and she backed out of the kitchen, bellowing.
  7. spectral
    resembling or characteristic of a phantom
    I don’t know if she just saw the partially eaten baked good hovering in midair or if she actually saw some diaphanous, spectral vision of me, but Miranda’s artificially tanned skin turned pale and she backed out of the kitchen, bellowing.
  8. pique
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    But seeing two young women exit the car and look up at the house—one grinning, one looking glum—my stomach and my interest are piqued.
  9. smattering
    a small number or amount
    Just as I get in close enough to see her long straight lashes and the smattering of freckles across her nose, she steps aside and there is a girl in her place. I can’t help but stumble back.
  10. transfixed
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    I follow her gaze and see my comb sitting on a step. I must have dropped it while transfixed by her.
  11. cranny
    a small opening or crevice
    Is that a shadow leaning over the upstairs railing? I stop in my tracks, a knot tightening in my stomach. It’s just an old house with weird nooks and crannies that cast weird shadows and you’re exhausted and hungry and—
    The shadow pulls back from the railing.
  12. vitriol
    abusive or venomous language to express blame or censure
    "...With your grandparents gone, I worry about Bobbie. She’s all alone; she doesn’t have anyone on her team. I thought maybe we could add her to ours.”
    Who’s Bobbie?
    “Even though she hates you,” Molly says, the vitriol behind her words freezing both me and her mother.
  13. olive branch
    something given to another in the hope of making peace
    Molly’s eyes don’t hide her doubts, but she offers her mother an olive branch in a smile. “I just want to be normal.”
  14. curate
    select and present content or information
    “It’s not meme money; you know I curate and execute a brand-forward content experience blah blah blah thingy for my clients.”
  15. scrutinize
    look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail
    And there’s that feeling again—the feeling of being looked at, scrutinized.
Created on Fri May 29 15:53:38 EDT 2026 (updated Mon Jul 20 17:16:46 EDT 2026)

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