The Stars Beneath Our Feet: Chapters 1-10

by David Barclay Moore
In this novel, a 12-year-old boy uses his passion for building to come to terms with his brother's death. Build your vocabulary by learning these words from David Barclay Moore's award-winning debut.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapter 1-10, Chapters 11-24, Chapters 25-37
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. clique
    an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
    Crews are like cliques.
  2. cackle
    emit a loud, unpleasant kind of laughing
    Moses cackled like a old witch in the darkness while I continued climbing stairs.
  3. supposedly
    believed or reputed to be the case
    What if my brother was hiding out somewhere? Like the supposedly dead rapper Tupac Shakur?
  4. meme
    an amusing image that spreads rapidly through social media
    “Not many of us have rich imaginations, but you do. It’s hard for most people to come up with any original ideas. Everybody consumes the same old TV shows, pix and memes over and over, regurgitating the same old ideas over and over.”
  5. regurgitate
    repeat after memorization
    “Not many of us have rich imaginations, but you do. It’s hard for most people to come up with any original ideas. Everybody consumes the same old TV shows, pix and memes over and over, regurgitating the same old ideas over and over.”
  6. lush
    characterized by extravagance and profusion
    “That’s lush. Three cheeses. Put some hair on that frail little chest of yours!”
  7. frail
    physically weak
    “That’s lush. Three cheeses. Put some hair on that frail little chest of yours!”
  8. snicker
    laugh quietly
    Yvonne snickered.
  9. dejected
    affected or marked by low spirits
    She had a dejected look on her smooth, coffee-colored face.
  10. tackle
    seize and throw down an opponent player carrying the ball
    They’d usually prefer to joke before they would tackle anybody.
  11. cobbler
    a pie made of fruit with rich biscuit dough on top
    “My cherry cobbler’s almost done.”
  12. aspect
    the feelings expressed on a person's face
    My mother peeked into the oven with a firm, miserable aspect on her face.
  13. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    “You been so down lately. You and your mother, slinking around here just as despondent...”
  14. despondent
    without or almost without hope
    “You been so down lately. You and your mother, slinking around here just as despondent...”
  15. chutney
    a spicy relish usually made with fruit, vinegar, and spices
    Ma had started playing her old chutney and calypso tunes.
  16. notorious
    known widely and usually unfavorably
    “A notorious gangsta!” Vega called out. Markka’s gaze went to Vega and then to me, but she didn’t say nothing.
  17. strut
    walk in a proud, confident way
    She said, “And don’t be strutting around here telling everybody you got that new fancy game console. That’s the last thing we need, them breaking in here to steal it and getting away with my Pez collection.”
  18. sift
    check and sort carefully
    She wiped her eyes with her other hand and started sifting through her cornflakes.
  19. slouch
    walk slovenly
    She slouched through our front door, dragging her sloppy trash bags behind her.
  20. hummus
    a thick spread made from mashed chickpeas
    Today Ms. Jenna had just finished showing us how to make fresh hummus from scratch using olive oil and garlic and cans of chickpeas.
  21. projectile
    a weapon that is forcibly propelled toward a target
    “So I hear you’re launching projectiles now,” he said.
  22. sulky
    sullen or moody
    “I’ve noticed a change. Lady Bug also said you’ve been sulky in class the past couple months, despondent.”
  23. callous
    emotionally hardened
    “You need to accept it. It may sound callous, cold-blooded, but you will never see Jermaine again. At least, not in this life.”
  24. aberrant
    markedly different from an accepted norm
    “If we don’t distinguish our heartache—don’t at least attempt to work through it, you understand—it tends to pop up later. In different ways, aberrant ways.”
  25. turret
    a small tower extending above a building
    I had built round turrets all along the walls.
  26. exasperated
    greatly annoyed; out of patience
    “Uh, Sir Wallace, sir, may we come indoors?” Daddy asked me, looking exasperated.
  27. fruitful
    productive or conducive to producing in abundance
    “Wallace,” he would say to me, “never couch at home watching TV when you could be doing something fruitful. Get out, boy. Jog. Go to the gym! Lift a barbell!”
  28. gawk
    look with amazement
    While he gobbled, Heike gawked at Daddy like he was somebody she didn’t recognize.
  29. bodega
    small shop selling groceries, especially in a Hispanic area
    Some fourteen-year-old dude was shot in front of a bodega nearby.
  30. fortuitous
    lucky; occurring by happy chance
    “Remember,” Ali said, “your dad is having just as difficult a time adjusting to Jermaine’s death as you are—mayhaps more. Consider that when you manage him. This could be a new, fortuitous opportunity for you and for your father to shape something better, adjust to a world without Jermaine.”
  31. lurk
    lie in wait or behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
    I didn’t see nobody lurking.
  32. evict
    expel from one's property or force to move out
    They would evict you onto the streets first before they’d ever switch off your power.
  33. sly
    marked by skill in deception
    “You are a sly genius,” Daddy said.
  34. linoleum
    a floor covering made from linseed oil, cork, and resin
    Jermaine’s newspaper pages floated down to the linoleum.
  35. lurch
    move haltingly and unsteadily
    Angry, Jermaine lurched toward me.
Created on Mon Feb 12 13:34:20 EST 2018 (updated Mon Feb 12 13:56:54 EST 2018)

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