The Girl Who Drank the Moon: Chapters 1-3

by Kelly Barnhill
In this Newbery Award-winning novel, baby Luna is abandoned by her village and raised by the witch Xan. As Luna tries to manage her growing magical powers, she learns about her true origins and joins forces with others to fight the corrupt Council of Elders.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-3, Chapters 4-11, Chapters 12-18, Chapters 19-31, Chapters 32-48
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. populace
    people in general considered as a whole
    It was important to give the populace a show.
  2. pomp
    ceremonial elegance and splendor
    Normally, the Day of Sacrifice came and went with all the pomp and gravity that it ought.
  3. bereavement
    state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one
    Their numb families mourned in silence, with pots of stew and nourishing foods heaped into their kitchens, while the comforting arms of neighbors circled around them to ease their bereavement.
  4. writhe
    move in a twisting or contorted motion
    Her shiny black hair flew about her head like a nest of long, writhing snakes.
  5. guttural
    relating to or articulated in the throat
    The mother made a guttural sound, deep in her chest, like an angry bear.
  6. testament
    strong evidence for something
    Their long braided hair looped around their waists, where it was cinched tight—a testament to their years of contemplation and combat training at the top of the Tower.
  7. contemplation
    a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
    Their long braided hair looped around their waists, where it was cinched tight—a testament to their years of contemplation and combat training at the top of the Tower.
  8. implacable
    incapable of being appeased or pacified
    Their faces were implacable as stones, and the Elders, despite their power and stature, edged away from them.
  9. trifle
    consider not very seriously
    The Sisters were a frightening force. Not to be trifled with.
  10. whimper
    cry weakly or softly
    The baby, on the other hand, once transferred into the arms of the Grand Elder, whimpered briefly and then turned her attention to the sagging face in front of her, all wobbles and creases and folds.
  11. lore
    knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote
    Common lore insisted that such people were special.
  12. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    “Gentlemen,” he said with all the ceremony he could muster, “it is time.”
  13. plod
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    The procession was, as usual, somber, slow, and insufferably plodding.
  14. melancholy
    characterized by or causing or expressing sadness
    Once the Protectorate’s gates closed behind them, though, and the citizens returned with their melancholy broods of children to their drab little homes, the Elders quickened their pace.
  15. drab
    lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise
    Once the Protectorate’s gates closed behind them, though, and the citizens returned with their melancholy broods of children to their drab little homes, the Elders quickened their pace.
  16. yoke
    stable gear that joins two draft animals at the neck
    He felt a sudden wave of fatigue settling on his shoulders like an ox’s yoke.
  17. decrepit
    lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality
    Elder Raspin, the most decrepit of the Elders, asked.
  18. subdued
    quieted and brought under control
    The Witch—that is, the belief in her—made for a frightened people, a subdued people, a compliant people, who lived their lives in a saddened haze, the clouds of their grief numbing their senses and dampening their minds.
  19. compliant
    disposed to act in accordance with someone's wishes
    The Witch—that is, the belief in her—made for a frightened people, a subdued people, a compliant people, who lived their lives in a saddened haze, the clouds of their grief numbing their senses and dampening their minds.
  20. unencumbered
    free of anything that impedes or is burdensome
    It was terribly convenient for the Elders’ unencumbered rule.
  21. noxious
    injurious to physical or mental health
    At the center of the forest was a small swamp—bubbly, sulfury, and noxious, fed and warmed by an underground, restlessly sleeping volcano and covered with a slick of slime whose color ranged from poison green to lightning blue to blood red, depending on the time of year.
  22. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    At the edge of the swamp, standing right on the fringe of flowering reeds growing out of the muck, a very old woman leaned on a gnarled staff.
  23. imposing
    befitting an important, distinguished, or powerful person
    “My dear Xan,” Glerk said, feeling a rumble deep in his chest, which he hoped sounded imposing and dramatic, and not like someone who was simply coming down with a cold.
  24. perpetuate
    cause to continue or prevail
    For five hundred years, give or take a decade or two, that dragonling has persisted in these delusions—fed and perpetuated by you, my dear.
  25. beset
    assail or attack on all sides
    “I have been beset of late by troubling dreams. I worry about you when you are gone.”
  26. vault
    bound vigorously
    And she vaulted up and forward on her staff's fulcrum, sprinting away into the green.
  27. fulcrum
    the pivot about which a lever turns
    And she vaulted up and forward on her staff's fulcrum, sprinting away into the green.
  28. knack
    a special way of doing something
    Starlight collection takes a certain knack and talent (magic, for starters), but children eat it with gusto.
  29. sate
    fill to contentment
    They grow fat and sated and shining.
  30. loam
    a rich soil consisting of sand, clay and organic materials
    She went to one of the craggy trees and leaned against it, taking in the loamy scent of its bark through the soft beak of her nose.
  31. lichen
    a plant occurring in crusty patches on tree trunks or rocks
    And so, as she often did when she wanted some peace and quiet away from home, the Witch Xan transformed herself into a tree—a craggy thing of leaf and lichen and deep-grooved bark, similar in shape and texture to the other ancient sycamores standing guard over the small grove.
  32. gruff
    blunt and unfriendly or stern
    She didn’t hear the protestations of Antain or the embarrassed silence of the Council or the gruff pontifications of Grand Elder Gherland.
  33. pontificate
    talk in a dogmatic and pompous manner
    She didn’t hear the protestations of Antain or the embarrassed silence of the Council or the gruff pontifications of Grand Elder Gherland.
  34. ruddy
    inclined to a healthy reddish color
    Her face was ruddy and rageful and her tiny hands curled into fists.
  35. clabber
    turn into curds
    The child’s scalp smelled like bread dough and clabbering milk.
  36. afield
    far away from home or one's usual surroundings
    Each day, Xan’s path wandered farther afield.
  37. gossamer
    characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy
    At night, once the goat’s milk was exhausted, Xan gathered the gossamer threads of starlight on her fingers, and the child ate gratefully.
  38. diffuse
    spread out; not concentrated in one place
    But because the light travels such a long distance, the magic in it is fragile and diffused, stretched into the most delicate of threads.
  39. insinuate
    introduce or insert in a subtle manner
    Even now, she could feel the magic pulsing under her skin, each filament insinuating itself between cells, through tissues, filling up her bones.
  40. akin
    similar in quality or character
    “Infusing magic into a child is akin to putting a sword in the hand of a toddler—so much power and so little sense. Can’t you see how you age me so, girl?” he had said, over and over.
Created on Tue Feb 27 17:32:07 EST 2018 (updated Fri Mar 09 10:53:11 EST 2018)

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