Please Ignore Vera Dietz: Part Five

by A.S. King
Vera's best friend Charlie betrays her when he starts hanging out with troublemaker Jenny Flick. When Charlie dies, Vera must decide whether to reveal the truth about his death.

Here are links to our lists to the novel: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five
30 words 17 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. backfire
    return with an undesired effect
    This approach is destined to backfire on me, so I decide to dump the rest of my cereal down the drain, too, and talk nonstop on my way to the door.
  2. truce
    a state of peace agreed to between opponents
    He waves, which means truce, which means he still can’t handle talking about anything remotely heavy and would prefer to ignore it.
  3. marksman
    someone skilled in shooting
    I think of the Post-it note he tacked near the sink. “Fundamentally, the marksman aims at himself.”
  4. honorary
    given as an award without the normal duties
    I liked working at Pagoda Pizza, and even though I was dying to switch to night shift and start delivering once I turned eighteen, I got along great with Nate, the day manager, who said my love of Al Green made me an “honorary sister.”
  5. thrifty
    careful and diligent in the use of resources
    Sindy always said I saved myself like I saved money. Said I was emotionally thrifty.
  6. infest
    invade in great numbers
    It was infested with roaches and lacked air-conditioning.
  7. leer
    look suggestively or obliquely
    I saw them leering and laughing, and something clicked inside me.
  8. hyperventilate
    breathe excessively hard and fast
    Gretchen, head Flickite, walks in, sees me hyperventilating, then looks at the mirror, sees the writing, and smirks.
  9. ignorant
    uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication
    “Ignorant,” Gretchen whispers. Bill kisses his teeth and glares at her.
    Mr. Shunk says, “Continue.”
    Bill blinks. “Just an ignorant, silly little boy.”
  10. makeshift
    done or made using whatever is available
    I can’t pry it open without a tool, so I look back to his makeshift kitchen and find a teaspoon, still sticky, and insert its handle into the crack.
  11. equate
    make uniform, corresponding, or matching
    Did I really think that images from a dream I had while passed out drunk would equate with real life?
  12. sinuous
    curved or curving in and out
    He came to the window and put his two sinuous hands on the frame.
  13. abide
    put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    “I just never thought at my age I’d have to abide by pizza delivery guy dress code.”
  14. spelunk
    explore natural caves
    “I love Vocab. It’s like spelunking in a cave you’ve been in your whole life and discovering a thousand new tunnels.”
  15. hysterical
    marked by excessive or uncontrollable emotion
    I’m laughing because Charlie is as hysterically impatient in death as he was in real life.
  16. vaguely
    in an unclear way
    I know the road and vaguely know the address, so I grab four Cokes from the cooler and get into my car before anyone notices I’ve taken the wrong run.
  17. transcend
    go beyond the scope or limits of
    He would relax his muscles. He would concentrate on his diaphragm, breathing. He would transcend. Breathe in. Breathe out.
  18. delusional
    suffering from or characterized by erroneous beliefs
    Because when I think about it, I was also built from delusional optimism and
    folly.
  19. folly
    the quality of being rash and foolish
    Because when I think about it, I was also built from delusional optimism and folly.
  20. rant
    talk at length in a noisy, excited, or angry manner
    Then I saw Jenny, a small red gasoline canister in hand, ranting behind the glass in the reptile area.
  21. multitude
    a large indefinite number
    Only for a tiny millisecond did I imagine that he wanted me burned alive along
    with the multitude of helpless animals.
  22. warp
    bend or twist out of shape
    Shock warped time. When the clock on the stereo lit up, it said 7:07. It had only been four minutes since I parked, but it felt like an hour.
  23. rummage
    search haphazardly
    Rather than get more involved than I already was, I rummaged through my purse to find a five-dollar bill, fed it to the machine, and drove my car into the auto wash until the buzzer sounded and the red light came on, directing me to stop.
  24. fathom
    come to understand
    I was still so numb from the night before, I found it hard to even fathom the fact of it.
  25. ingest
    take food, drink, or some other substance into the body
    Charlie is the almonds in my granola. He is the 2% fat in my milk. Ingesting him is making me stronger.
  26. appalled
    struck with dread, shock, or dismay
    Dad looks so appalled, I feel scared to answer the detective’s questions about when it all started, but I figure it’s all or nothing.
  27. affidavit
    written declaration made under oath
    At the end, the detective makes us sign a few forms and tells us we’ll have to come in again for more formal affidavits, but that they’ll need some time to prepare a case.
  28. unison
    the act of occurring together or simultaneously
    Two plates are placed before us, and we say thank you in unison.
  29. compensate
    make up for shortcomings by exaggerating good qualities
    He looks at me and says, “I tried to compensate.”
  30. tandem
    one behind the other
    We will learn to forgive ourselves in tandem.
Created on Tue Apr 24 19:25:41 EDT 2018 (updated Tue May 01 16:27:19 EDT 2018)

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