The Moon Without Stars: Chapters 17–23

by Chanel Miller
Seventh-grader Luna Noon and her friend Scott Lam start a magazine, but find themselves involved in interpersonal drama.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Prologue–Chapter 6, Chapters 7–11, Chapters 12–16, Chapters 17–23
15 words 6 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. profoundly
    to a great depth psychologically
    If you ever want to be confused, deeply and profoundly, go to the bra section.
  2. dinky
    small and insignificant
    His dinky glasses had been traded in for tortoiseshell rims.
  3. pretentious
    creating an appearance of importance or distinction
    “No offense, but she comes off a little pretentious. I’m bummed my birdhouse got installed by the willow, I never really get to see it.”
  4. inebriated
    stupefied or excited by a chemical substance
    Rumor had it he’d already been showing up to school inebriated, caught with a plastic water bottle filled with gin a few weeks prior.
  5. curt
    brief and to the point
    It felt strange not speaking to Scott; he kept his distance, acknowledging me with a curt nod as I passed but not much more than that.
  6. commiserate
    feel or express sympathy or compassion
    To make sure she knew this was never meant to happen; we could commiserate about snooping parents.
  7. placidly
    in a quiet and tranquil manner
    My hands were working even as my mind failed me: placidly tucking the zine into my back pocket, gathering my things, and then I was walking in no particular direction, backpack still flapping half-open.
  8. bludgeon
    overcome or coerce as if by using a heavy club
    Self-loathing was seeping into everything, my thoughts bludgeoned me: I am a friend abandoner.
  9. inert
    unable to move or resist motion
    Books can’t make people feel better, can’t fix the complexity of reality; they are inert blocks, deadweight, doorstops.
  10. dole
    bestow, as in small portions
    Your budget was limited to whatever your parents doled out—you wanted the shoes everyone else had?
  11. stark
    severely simple
    The redwood tree stood stark and alone on the blank patch of dirt.
  12. conjoined
    consisting of two or more associated entities
    We’d each have three dogs, build a conjoined walkway so we could share them.
  13. livid
    furiously angry
    Bonnie was livid.
  14. fugitive
    someone who flees from an uncongenial situation
    Now whenever Ray saw me come in, he’d say:
    “Good afternoon, little fugitive, what are we running from today?”
  15. botch
    make a mess of, destroy, or ruin
    “And I don’t blame him. I botched things up pretty bad.”
Created on Fri Oct 02 04:35:06 EDT 2026 (updated Fri Oct 02 16:15:40 EDT 2026)

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