When Tomorrow Burns: Part 2

by Tae Keller
Three middle school students, once best friends and now uncertain of their place in each other's lives, hunt for the sequel to a book of prophecies they found as children.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Parts 5–6
15 words 12 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. excruciating
    extremely painful
    Nomi, of course, had found it excruciating to wait through the weekend.
  2. interject
    speak abruptly, especially as an interruption
    “Amazon is on fire,” Blue interjected, because she’d gone a valiant forty minutes without talking about fire safety.
  3. meticulously
    in a manner marked by extreme care of details
    The office was meticulously organized and color-coded.
  4. begrudgingly
    in an unwilling manner
    Nomi felt, rather begrudgingly, grateful to him.
  5. stimulus
    any information or event that acts to arouse action
    “They don’t have a nervous system or a brain, so they don’t feel pain the way we do. And yet…we know they react to painful stimuli, releasing a kind of painkiller into their system.”
  6. diligently
    in a hard-working manner
    It had been years since she’d gotten those first two journals, and she’d gathered wisdom diligently, filling an entire notebook as the world changed around her.
  7. suave
    having a sophisticated charm
    But then he grinned and ran a hand through his hair, all mocking suave.
  8. prejudice
    a partiality preventing objective consideration of an issue
    He saw comments online sometimes—all guys are terrible and men are the worst—that was prejudice, right?
  9. sheepishly
    in a manner showing embarrassment or shame
    The other woman threw her hands up and smiled sheepishly.
  10. convey
    transmit or serve as the medium for transmission
    “So hard!” Nomi shouted, throwing her arms wide to convey the breadth of her effort.
  11. breadth
    the extent of something from side to side
    “So hard!” Nomi shouted, throwing her arms wide to convey the breadth of her effort.
  12. concede
    admit or acknowledge, often reluctantly
    “Fine,” Nomi conceded.
  13. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    She was looking, very intently, at the employees-only door.
  14. sustain
    supply with necessities and support
    They connect us, sustain us, and anchor us to the Earth, and human roots are much the same—but some people will live whole lives without knowing their roots exist.
  15. proverb
    a condensed but memorable saying embodying an important fact
    It was something his mother said—a root of his own, a reworking of the Japanese proverb, which translated into English as Not seeing is a flower.
Created on Wed Oct 07 03:27:29 EDT 2026 (updated Mon Oct 19 12:06:26 EDT 2026)

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