The Shape of Lost Things: Chapters 1–3

by Sarah Everett
Twelve-year-old Skye's older brother, Finn, returns home after spending four years on the run with their father, but Finn is so different that Skye isn't even sure he's the real Finn.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–6, Chapters 7–13, Chapters 14–18
15 words 48 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. spectacular
    having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
    September means fall is here, everything turning brown and dead and crunchy. It means school starts and everyone comes back from break all spectacular and stuff.
  2. apparently
    seemingly; as far as one can tell
    Like Nico, who got his braces off; or Reece, who now wears real bras; or Emery Wallace, who apparently learned to tell the future over the summer.
  3. empathetic
    showing ready comprehension of others' states
    Elephants are social, smart, and they always like to be part of a herd. They’re empathetic—the type of friends who cry with you when you’re sad and are happy when you’re happy.
  4. brainstorm
    try to solve a problem by thinking intensely about it
    “I think we should brainstorm,” Jax says, because she always thinks we should brainstorm.
    “Brainstorm describes you so perfectly, Jax,” Reece says with a sigh, and she has a point.
  5. unspool
    reverse the winding or twisting of
    If I could see into Jax’s brain, I think it would be like a tangled ball of yarn. We would have to unspool it and remove knots and follow the threads, but it would still be pretty awesome.
  6. particle
    (nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything
    “Correct!” Mom says, beaming. “According to quantum physics, every particle is also a wave and a wave can be in multiple places at once. Do you know why that is?”
  7. stellar
    distinguished from others in excellence
    She turns to me and says, “Have a stellar day, honey.”
  8. menacing
    threatening evil or danger
    “One of these days, Skye,” he says just before I head for my room, “you won’t be able to get rid of me or Catastrophe.”
    Mom laughs and says, “That sounds menacing.”
  9. distracted
    having the attention diverted especially because of anxiety
    Sometimes when you are in the moment, you are too distracted to catch every single thing that is happening around you.
  10. exception
    an instance that does not conform to a rule
    Dad looks like he doesn’t want to laugh at Finn’s joke, but he has to make an exception. Because Finn was exceptional.
  11. exceptional
    far beyond what is usual in magnitude or degree
    Dad looks like he doesn’t want to laugh at Finn’s joke, but he has to make an exception. Because Finn was exceptional.
  12. hilarious
    extremely funny; causing laughter
    Nico tells me as we walk about how the school play—Pirates of the Caribbean—is going. I laugh a lot, because there’s something hilarious about the way Nico tells stories.
  13. fidgety
    nervous and unable to relax
    No, there is something strangely fidgety and serious about Roger, and it gives me a very, very bad feeling.
  14. black hole
    a region of space resulting from the collapse of a star
    “Did you know,” Mom says on the way to school, “that time freezes inside a black hole?”
  15. chaotic
    completely unordered and unpredictable and confusing
    By the time we get to school, I have texted Jax and Reece: BIG NEWS
    Reece has texted back: ME TOO
    Jax texts: skdljslklek;l
    Then: Sorry that was my hamster
    Reece: Q You are sooo chaotic
    Me: No she’s not
    Jax: Haha sorry sorry
Created on Tue Jul 21 21:11:31 EDT 2026 (updated Mon Aug 17 12:26:03 EDT 2026)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.