As Brave as You: Chapters 1–2

by Jason Reynolds
When brothers Genie and Ernie leave the city to spend the summer in Virginia with their grandparents, they learn about what it means to be truly brave.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–6, Chapters 7–10, Chapters 11–15, Chapters 16–21

Here are links to our lists for other books by Jason Reynolds: When I Was the Greatest, The Boy in the Black Suit, All American Boys, Long Way Down, Ghost, Patina, Sunny, Lu
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. shabby
    showing signs of wear and tear
    Genie stood a few feet away from Samantha’s shabby old doghouse, scribbling a mess of words in his notebook.
  2. sly
    marked by skill in deception
    Ernie flashed a sly grin, one that worked perfectly with his dark shades.
  3. gape
    look with amazement
    Genie gaped, his mouth falling open as Ernie came back to scoop up more dog crud.
  4. catapult
    hurl as if with a sling
    How often does anybody get to catapult doo-doo into a forest? Never.
  5. grimace
    contort the face to indicate a certain mental state
    Genie grimaced, but he slid the shovel under the poop, grimaced again at the scratchy sound of metal on dirt, then lifted it and followed Ernie back to the tree line.
  6. momentum
    an impelling force or strength
    He held the shovel low and let it drop back behind him a little so that he could get some good momentum.
  7. sophisticated
    complex or intricate
    We’re talking technique here. Sophisticated stuff.
  8. stoop
    small porch or set of steps at the front entrance of a house
    But there were no sidewalks here in North Hill, Virginia. No brownstones with the cement stoops where you could watch the buses, ice cream trucks, and taxis ride by.
  9. stew
    be in a huff; be silent or sullen
    So to take his mind off the discomfort of being trapped under Ernie’s leg, stewing in the thick silence between his folks, who had managed to not talk to each other for the past four hours, Genie flipped through pages of his notebook—where he kept his best questions.
  10. ramble
    continue talking or writing in a purposeless manner
    “They’re like weasels or somethin’. But tougher, know what I’m sayin’? Like, they’re small, but they ain’t scared to get busy, even on lions,” Genie had rambled.
  11. drone
    talk in a monotonous voice
    “Boy, if you don’t go to sleep, I’m a honey your badger,” Ma had droned from the front seat after Genie finished telling her about the video he’d seen of a honey badger actually taking on a lion.
  12. reluctantly
    with a certain degree of unwillingness
    “Well, I know they’re lazy, and they sleep all the time,” he answered reluctantly, feeling the setup coming.
  13. coax
    influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
    Eventually, after going back and forth, in his mind about who he’d want to live with, and messily jotting his thoughts in the notebook, the smooth, dark road hypnotized Genie, finally coaxing him to sleep.
  14. buck
    move in a jerky or violent manner
    The car dipped and bucked every few seconds as Dad kept slamming on the brakes to avoid potholes.
  15. pothole
    a pit or cavity in a road produced by wear or weathering
    The car dipped and bucked every few seconds as Dad kept slamming on the brakes to avoid potholes.
  16. scrawl
    write carelessly
    #440: Does turning the radio off help you drive better? he scrawled as Ma turned to him and flashed a sleepy smile.
  17. commence
    set in motion, cause to start
    Ernie had run over to check on him and when he saw the coin, most of the snow knocked off, he commenced to karatisizing Down the Street Donnie, all the way...down the street.
  18. crest
    reach a high point
    “Ernie, you remember Samantha?” Dad asked, cutting the engine a minute after cresting the hill.
  19. groggy
    stunned or confused and slow to react
    “Of course I remember Samantha,” Ernie grumbled, his voice groggy from car sleep.
  20. size up
    look at closely in order to form an opinion about
    “That city’s beatin’ on you, ain’t it?” she said, sizing up Dad first.
  21. gritty
    composed of or covered with small particles
    He let the gritty goo slip between the tines of the fork and plop back down onto his plate.
  22. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    Grandma was looking intently at Genie, her head tilted like she was trying to figure something out.
  23. graze
    scrape gently
    He leaned in and just grazed Ma’s cheek with his lips, awkwardly.
  24. warp
    bend or twist out of shape
    The floor upstairs is all warped, and the planks must’ve shrunk; they’re all spaced out—I can see straight through to the living room.
  25. chime in
    break into a conversation
    Dad rolled his eyes and Grandma chimed in. “Ernest, um, that’s sweet. But you save that money for these boys. And Jamaica, okay? You fly out in what, two weeks, right?”
  26. fixate
    pay attention to exclusively and obsessively
    Genie, however, was fixated on Grandpop—on his face, specifically his shades.
  27. grouse
    complain
    “Senior,” she groused, snapping Dad out of his trance.
  28. stammer
    speak haltingly
    “Yeah—um—yes,” Dad stammered, still sort of zoned out.
  29. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    Dad looked to Ernie, who lay sprawled on the other bed, clicking away on his phone.
  30. reiterate
    say, state, or perform again
    “It’s your grandpop’s rules,” Dad reiterated.
Created on Thu Dec 20 19:56:42 EST 2018 (updated Thu Jan 03 10:28:12 EST 2019)

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