The Darkest Minds: Chapters 1-6

by Alexandra Bracken
When the children who survive a plague develop unusual powers, they are rounded up and imprisoned in rehabilitation camps. Sixteen-year-old Ruby escapes from confinement and joins up with a group of other children fighting back against the government.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-6, Chapters 7-11, Chapters 12-15, Chapters 16-22, Chapters 23-31
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. regimen
    a systematic plan for therapy
    My mom started me on a strict vitamin regimen and refused to let me be alone, even for a few minutes.
  2. galosh
    a waterproof overshoe that protects shoes from water or snow
    It had rained the night before, so my parents sent me to school wearing red galoshes.
  3. sullen
    showing a brooding ill humor
    Your child suddenly becomes sullen and withdrawn, and/or loses interest in activities they previously enjoyed.
  4. grouse
    complain
    “Damn, they’re getting lazy,” the white coat groused, more to himself than to me.
  5. perpetually
    without interruption
    They capped the number at thirty a week later, and moved on to filling the next wooden structure along the camp’s perpetually soggy and trampled main trail.
  6. oblivion
    total forgetfulness
    A few beds over, one of the girls had finally dropped off into the oblivion of sleep, and her snores were helping to cover our conversation.
  7. shoddy
    of inferior workmanship and materials
    Five years feels like a lifetime when one day bleeds into the next, and your world doesn’t stretch any farther than the gray electric fence surrounding two miles of shoddy buildings and mud.
  8. funk
    a state of nervous depression
    Dreaming led to disappointment, and disappointment to a kind of depressed funk that wasn’t easy to shake.
  9. lethargic
    deficient in alertness or activity
    Even my hands seemed lethargic, my fingers stiff as pencils.
  10. pretense
    the act of giving a false appearance
    When I didn’t respond, he snuck an arm past my shoulder, on the pretense of sorting through my work, and pressed me into his chest.
  11. deign
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
    She didn’t stop or deign to look at me until we were by our bunks, and she had one fist curled in her bedsheets, ready to pull herself up to the top bed.
  12. insignia
    a badge worn to show official position
    I nodded, glancing at the gold swan insignia on her coat pocket.
  13. punctuate
    interrupt periodically
    Silence hung between us, punctuated by the pounding in my head.
  14. understatement
    something said in a restrained way for ironic contrast
    That was an understatement.
  15. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    The smile on her face stretched, and there was something...smug about it.
  16. pristine
    completely free from dirt or contamination
    The clip of boots against the pristine tile forced my eyes up, away from the doctor’s face.
  17. reverence
    a feeling of profound respect for someone or something
    Stories were passed around camp with sick, almost holy reverence.
  18. imposing
    impressive in appearance
    The building itself wasn’t that imposing; it was only called the Tower because it stuck up like a broken finger in a sea of one-story wooden shacks arranged in rings.
  19. buffer
    a neutral zone between two rival powers
    But after a Red had blown up his cabin, they moved the Reds farther away, using the Greens as a buffer in case any of the real threats tried to make a run for the fence.
  20. honorary
    given as an award without the normal duties
    She and a few other girls were honorary leaders of our sad, mismatched group, nominated mostly because they hit certain bodily milestones before the rest of us, and could explain what was happening to us without laughing in our faces.
  21. steadfast
    marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
    How many days and nights had I spent perched up there with Sam, steadfastly ignoring Vanessa’s attempts to drag us into some stupid, pointless conversation?
  22. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    She didn’t look haughty or hostile, the way she usually did.
  23. jar
    move or cause to move with a sudden jerky motion
    I tried not to lean against him, to grit my teeth against the jarring motion, but I could barely keep my head from rolling back.
  24. ebb
    a gradual decline in size or strength or power
    I didn’t recognize the song, but I recognized David Gilmour’s voice, and the ebb and flow of Pink Floyd’s synthesizers.
  25. croon
    sing softly
    Mick Jagger crooned next to my ear, singing about war and peace and shelter—those kinds of lies.
  26. hitch
    hook or entangle
    Something warm bloomed in my chest, even as my breath hitched in my throat.
  27. trill
    the articulation of a consonant with a flutter of the tongue
    I felt something warm tickle at the back of my mind, and recognized its warning trill.
  28. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    She told me things about the world that didn’t seem possible, not until we were able to pick up a radio station and a solemn voice bled through the speakers to confirm it all.
  29. sanction
    the act of punishing
    “The president has reportedly refused an invitation from Britain’s prime minister to discuss possible relief measures for the world economic crisis and how to pump life back into the sagging global stock markets. When asked to explain his decision, the president cited the United Kingdom’s role in the UN’s economic sanctions against the United States.”
  30. default
    fail to pay up
    And then, of course, the economy tanked and the country defaulted on its debt.
Created on Mon Apr 23 14:19:08 EDT 2018 (updated Wed Apr 25 08:36:33 EDT 2018)

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