The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James: Chapters 1–10

by Ashley Herring Blake
After a heart transplant, Sunny St. James resolves to reinvent herself — but she must navigate complicated relationships with her new best friend and with the mother who abandoned her.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–10, Chapters 11–35
25 words 272 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sternum
    the breastbone
    The scalpel zips down my sternum, and my body squelches and squishes as gloved hands dip into my open chest.
  2. squelch
    make a sucking sound
    The scalpel zips down my sternum, and my body squelches and squishes as gloved hands dip into my open chest.
  3. debacle
    a sudden and complete disaster
    Before Margot’s debacle of a birthday party back in January, she and I used to play this game where we’d move something small, like a candle from the living room to the kitchen or a picture frame from one side of a shelf to the other, and see how long it took Kate to notice.
  4. morbid
    suggesting the horror of death and decay
    “And after they cut it out,” I say, continuing my morbid lesson, “I’ll be dead. Like, actually dead while they put the new heart in and attach all the blood vessels and arteries and stuff.”
  5. gurney
    a metal stretcher with wheels
    Behind her, two orderlies wheel in a gurney, maneuvering it right next to my bed.
  6. gauzy
    so thin as to transmit light
    The world feels soft and gauzy and slow, as though I’m underwater.
  7. cerulean
    bright blue in color, like a clear sky
    Everything is blue. All sorts of blue—navy and cerulean, aqua and royal, all swirling together like a kaleidoscope.
  8. consistency
    the degree of density, firmness, or viscosity of a substance
    I used to hate pudding. The consistency freaked me out, and what in the world is butterscotch anyway?
  9. venue
    the scene of any event or action
    Now he helps Kate run Cherry Picked Books, but he still plays at coffee shops and tiny venues in Port Hope, which is on the mainland, and people just eat up his super-moody songs.
  10. implode
    burst inward
    It’s all about how this boy finally kisses the girl of his dreams and the whole world pretty much implodes.
  11. drab
    lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise
    In fact, I love Dave’s mushy songs so much, I’m trying to write my own. Sort of. I mean, other than my checkups and physical therapy, there’s not all that much to do. I just sit here in my hospital bed, day after drab day, and music makes me feel, you know?
  12. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    In that tiny moment, my six-year-old brain flashed to a dingy tile floor and a blue-vested cashier asking me where my parents were while I wailed.
  13. scrawl
    write carelessly
    Now it’s got the song I wrote for my donor inside, scrawled on a rolled-up piece of paper.
  14. silhouette
    an outline of a solid object as cast by its shadow
    I’ve just grabbed another swallow of air and escaped back underwater when I see a dark silhouette swimming toward me from the deeper part of the sea.
  15. flourish
    a showy gesture
    I'm about to do the same—adding my own special flourish, of course—when I realize my lungs are screaming for air.
  16. existential
    relating to or dealing with the state of being
    I need a New Life wardrobe, stat.
    “Your clothes are adorable. They’re so you.”
    Which is exactly the problem, but I’m on the hunt for a yes right now, and getting all existential about my new heart isn’t the way to do it.
  17. flank
    be located at the sides of something or somebody
    She built a seat under my window, full of bright pillows and flanked by sheer white curtains.
  18. sheer
    so thin as to transmit light
    She built a seat under my window, full of bright pillows and flanked by sheer white curtains.
  19. splay
    widen or spread apart
    She looks the same as she always does—tangly dark hair, amber eyes soft as she looks out the window of whatever room she’s in, long fingers splayed on her big pregnant belly.
  20. gusto
    vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment
    I appreciate a gal who eats with gusto.
  21. brandish
    move or swing back and forth
    “So annoying. My mom started painting her nails the same color as mine.” Margot brandishes her fuchsia fingers. “Like, what?”
  22. tender
    hurting
    It makes my heart feel all tender, like a finger poking at a fresh bruise.
  23. incinerate
    become reduced to ashes
    It’s in some medical waste dump or has been incinerated or something.
  24. grovel
    show submission or fear
    That maybe, because we were BFFs for so long, she’d feel it in her soul, how upset I was, and she’d immediately know why and she’d come groveling for forgiveness.
  25. wistful
    showing pensive sadness
    I sigh so loud and so wistful, he stops playing and looks at me.
Created on Mon May 11 14:04:29 EDT 2020 (updated Mon May 11 15:31:57 EDT 2020)

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