Sadie: List 2

by Courtney Summers
After her sister is murdered, 19-year-old Sadie is determined to track down the killer. In the meantime, a popular podcast focuses on Sadie herself.

This list covers pages 46–108 in the 2018 Wednesday Books edition.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
40 words 21 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. succumb
    give in, as to overwhelming force, influence, or pressure
    Their mother had wholly succumbed to her drug addiction by that point, and her exit was its most logical conclusion.
  2. imposing
    impressive in appearance
    He's an imposingly well-built, ruddy-faced guy but he's known around town as a gentle giant.
  3. ruddy
    inclined to a healthy reddish color
    He's an imposingly well-built, ruddy-faced guy but he's known around town as a gentle giant.
  4. catatonic
    characterized by unresponsiveness or lack of movement
    She was hysterical half the time, almost catatonic the rest of it.
  5. ragamuffin
    a dirty shabbily clothed urchin
    They’re both so underfed May Beth would’ve declared them ragamuffins.
  6. desolate
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    I continue to let the nasal blare of the car horn fill this desolate section of neighborhood as I watch the boys’ gangly legs propel them down the street.
  7. gangly
    tall, thin, and awkward
    I continue to let the nasal blare of the car horn fill this desolate section of neighborhood as I watch the boys’ gangly legs propel them down the street.
  8. quaint
    strange in an interesting or pleasing way
    The developing subdivision I spent the night in speaks to the place it’ll become after the rest of it bursts into flames; some quaint tourist hot spot rising from the ashes.
  9. stupor
    a state of being half-awake
    It’s just after three when Marlee’s door creaks open, pulling me from a hazy stupor.
  10. hodgepodge
    a motley assortment of things
    Everything’s sort of retro, but not by choice. It’s too hodgepodge for that. The floors are peeling laminate and the walls are beige. The window curtains are a deep forest green.
  11. scrutinize
    look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail
    Marlee scrutinizes all there is of me to scrutinize, from the tips of my toes to the top of my head.
  12. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
    I don’t know if I need the ruse, but I don’t want to find out I did when it’s too late.
  13. fleeting
    lasting for a markedly brief time
    I let the carbon bubble in my mouth, a nice, fleeting sensation.
  14. indulgent
    being favorably inclined
    This makes Marlee laugh, but it’s different than the laughter I’ve heard so far. It’s indulgent, kind. It’s the nicest her voice has sounded to me since I got here.
  15. impromptu
    with little or no preparation or forethought
    Breckin doesn’t seem put out over the impromptu end of snack time.
  16. plaintively
    in a manner expressing sorrow
    “Mama,” Breckin says plaintively, and Marlee moves to him, resting her hand on his head.
  17. furrow
    make or become wrinkled or creased
    She shakes her head a little, her brow furrowing.
  18. teeming
    abundantly filled with especially living things
    I imagine that place during the school year, the grounds teeming with children, running, playing, laughing, under the watchful eye of the man at the kitchen table.
  19. volition
    the act of making a choice
    There was no evidence of foul play at the scene, and given the fact that Ms. Hunter left Cold Creek of her own volition as a response to a personal tragedy, we believe this could be an extension of that.
  20. facade
    a showy misrepresentation to conceal something unpleasant
    Weekdays are spent being a perfect daughter and friend, but weekends are dedicated to blowing off the steam required to maintain that kind of facade.
  21. hardscrabble
    involving struggle, difficulties, or poverty
    It’s a hardscrabble crowd consisting of the middle-aged and the old-as-dirt and one anomalous group of perfect teenagers who Definitely Don’t Belong But Didn’t Get the Memo.
  22. anomalous
    deviating from the general or common order or type
    It’s a hardscrabble crowd consisting of the middle-aged and the old-as-dirt and one anomalous group of perfect teenagers who Definitely Don’t Belong But Didn’t Get the Memo.
  23. sallow
    unhealthy looking
    Kendall and Noah Baker are as blond as their aunt Marlee, but they don’t possess the same sallow complexion that speaks to hunger, sleeplessness and stress.
  24. muddle
    mix up or confuse
    I picture it sometimes, their meeting, her telling him, in her muddled voice, soured by drugs and booze, how hard she had it raising two little girls all on her own.
  25. reprieve
    an interruption in the intensity or amount of something
    I wish this was a love story because I know how it goes in one like mine, where the only moments of reprieve are the spaces between its lines.
  26. visceral
    coming from deep inward feelings rather than from reasoning
    I want them to like me. It’s a strange, almost visceral need that settles itself inside and it makes me feel stupid and weak because I know it’s a fault line I can trace all the way back to my mother.
  27. brazen
    not held back by conventional ideas of behavior
    It was ridiculous—so brazen. But it was good because it got me here.
  28. mutinous
    characterized by a rebellion against authority
    Kendall scowls, but she takes a mutinous swig of her new beer, giving Noah the finger with her free hand while she does.
  29. earnest
    devout or heartfelt
    He smiles such a small, earnest smile.
  30. efficacy
    capacity or power to produce a desired result
    If I accept Detective Sheila Gutierrez's words at face value, this can only prove to be a waste of my time. On the other hand, May Beth's general distrust of the Farfield Police Department's efficacy is never far from my mind.
  31. formidable
    inspiring fear or dread
    Ruby Lockwood is a formidable woman with pitch-black curls piled high on top of her head.
  32. tasteful
    in keeping with what is considered appropriate and stylish
    The houses here are gorgeous, lined neatly along each street, all of them tastefully decorated and immaculately landscaped.
  33. immaculate
    completely neat and clean
    I press my finger against the canvas’s bumpy surface and then trace it along the frame’s immaculate edge.
  34. interloper
    someone who intrudes on the privacy or property of another
    May Beth was scared I wouldn’t like the interloper because most kids hate that sudden division of parental attention, but Mattie couldn’t take away what I didn’t already have.
  35. conspicuous
    obvious to the eye or mind
    By the time we’re on the highway leading out of town, I feel less conspicuous, even though the sun’s fully out now, and there are no places to hide.
  36. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    My heart beats warily.
  37. threshold
    the entrance for passing through a room or building
    There’s a hint of a threshold to another room full of garbage creeping out.
  38. disconcerting
    causing an emotional disturbance
    The stairs make disconcerting noises as I trudge up the last of them, finally getting two feet on the landing.
  39. deterrent
    something immaterial that interferes with action or progress
    The collapsed stairway is too much of a deterrent to vandals, I guess.
  40. stifling
    characterized by oppressive heat and humidity
    I rub my sweaty forehead because it’s hot in here, stifling.
Created on Wed May 29 10:45:53 EDT 2019 (updated Mon Jun 03 16:19:32 EDT 2019)

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