Solo: List 2

by Kwame Alexander
After learning a devastating truth about his unstable, rock-star father, 17-year-old Blade travels to Ghana in order to come to terms with his family history and forge his own identity.

This list covers Part One, "My Favorite Guitarist"–"Track 6: Welcome to the Jungle."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4

Here are links to our lists for other books by Kwame Alexander: The Crossover, Booked, Rebound, Swing
35 words 107 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. gig
    a job, especially a temporary job
    In between gigs
    he sits
    under a
    palm tree, smiling
    with the few teeth
    he’s still got.
  2. loathe
    dislike intensely; feel disgust toward
    I hate Rutherford. I loathe everything he stands for.
  3. gawk
    look with amazement
    Even the crows were gawking
    of embarrassment from the trees.
  4. cower
    show submission or fear
    I cower.
  5. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    She naively believes
    she will be the next big thing
    and that her position in life
    is set in “stone.”
  6. absurdity
    the state or quality of being ridiculous
    She picks up
    Mick and Jagger
    to celebrate the arrival
    of yet another Morrison absurdity,
    ceremoniously dancing
    around the statue
  7. ceremonious
    characterized by pomp and stately display
    She picks up
    Mick and Jagger
    to celebrate the arrival
    of yet another Morrison absurdity,
    ceremoniously dancing
    around the statue
  8. paparazzo
    a freelance photographer who pursues celebrities
    ...a white van
    pulls up
    and out jumps
    fire-breathing paparazzi
    with loaded cameras,
    pushed into our faces.
  9. bona fide
    not counterfeit or copied
    Hearing Robert
    up there
    on a bona fide mic
    for the first time
    is like entering
    a universe
    where melody and
    soul
    and groove
    and element
    collide
    into something strange
    and magical.
  10. gospel
    a genre of evangelical Christian music
    All these good ole boys
    just borrowed
    from gospel
    and the blues.
  11. fret
    worry unnecessarily or excessively
    Don’t fret
    Mom would say
    whenever I was sad.
  12. cavalcade
    a procession of people traveling by foot, horse, or vehicles
    This is what I know
    In this cavalcade of stars

    She is Polaris
    Her love shines
  13. wallow
    devote oneself entirely to something
    For wallowing in the despair that is our life in front of
    you.
  14. privileged
    blessed with special advantages
    ...any fool
    in their righteous mind
    would be more than happy
    to trade places
    with me
    and my privileged, flashy life
  15. flashy
    tastelessly showy
    ...any fool
    in their righteous mind
    would be more than happy
    to trade places
    with me
    and my privileged, flashy life
  16. bliss
    a state of extreme happiness
    Bring out
    Kid Cudi, then
    the dancers

    you hired to perform
    Bharatanatyam:
    the “dance of bliss”
  17. debut
    appear for the first time in public
    Ever since Storm’s album
    flopped,
    debuting at
    the last Billboard spot,
    he’s dissed her
    on social media
    every chance he gets.
  18. giddy
    lacking seriousness; given to frivolity
    A stretch limo pulls up
    and out jumps
    a scruffy
    Rutherford Morrison
    with two giddy girls
  19. sordid
    morally degraded
    Insane in the membrane, he says, strolling into the house
    just in time for Storm
    to come running
    down the stairs
    crying
    a river
    and pouring
    the whole sordid mess
    out for him
    to drink.
  20. revival
    an evangelistic meeting to reawaken interest in religion
    I’ve
    been at church all night for
    revival.
  21. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    He stomps up to me
    in an ominous black robe
    and practically moves
    the ground beneath us.
  22. missionary
    someone sent to a foreign country to spread a religion
    I have taken for granted
    the palm trees in Cali

    brought in
    from somewhere else

    planted by Spanish missionaries
    in the 18th century.
  23. rancor
    a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
    I've known the rules
    since I could smell
    the vodka
    on his breath
    drown in its rancor.
  24. narcissist
    someone who is excessively self-centered
    Yesterday I was the son
    of a narcissist,
    but at least I knew.
  25. void
    an empty area or space
    So I do the only
    thing that soothes

    the only thing that fills
    the void.
    I write.
  26. affix
    attach to
    A manila envelope
    with a Post-It note
    affixed
    that reads:
    Lucy Pearl November, Hammond, Louisiana.
  27. reckon
    expect, believe, or suppose
    Is there a chance I could speak to her, ma’am?

    I reckon there is, if you were in Africa.
  28. croon
    sing softly
    To hear him
    croon
    is to know
    his hurt
    is volcanic
  29. malaria
    a disease caused by parasites transmitted by mosquito bite
    You could get malaria or something.
  30. arrogant
    having or showing feelings of unwarranted importance
    I was always afraid you would change,
    become arrogant and pompous.
  31. pompous
    puffed up with vanity
    I was always afraid you would change,
    become arrogant and pompous.
  32. muse
    the source of an artist's inspiration
    However long the muse takes.
  33. mangle
    destroy or injure severely
    Storm and I stare
    at the mangled masterpiece
    scattered across my room.
  34. fumigate
    treat with smoke, especially with the aim of disinfecting
    I’d need to get it fumigated first.
  35. nix
    command against
    Yeah, you're a Morrison. We're hard. Time to nix
    all that Tears for Fears crap.
Created on Tue Apr 30 16:51:57 EDT 2019 (updated Wed May 01 11:14:09 EDT 2019)

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