The List of Things That Will Not Change: List 1

by Rebecca Stead
As her dad prepares to remarry, twelve-year-old Bea reflects on her parents divorce and looks forward to developing a relationship with her new stepsister.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2
15 words 493 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. griddle
    a flat heated surface on which food is cooked
    We have this new pancake griddle that covers two stove burners, so now he can make four at once.
  2. loft
    floor consisting of open space at the top of a house
    The summer I turned ten, my cousin Angelica fell from the sleeping loft at our family’s lake cabin.
  3. splurge
    indulge oneself
    Mom doesn’t believe in wasting money, but Dad says it’s fine to splurge once in a while.
  4. swivel
    turn on a pivot
    When he bought me a puffy purple swivel chair for my room at his apartment, Mom muttered about it, and I went online and found out it cost almost 200 dollars, and after that I felt weird.
  5. eczema
    an inflammatory condition of the skin
    The medicine is for my skin. I have eczema, which you probably haven’t heard of.
  6. stutter
    a speech disorder involving hesitations and repetitions
    It’s something you have until maybe you grow out of it, like my cousin Angelica’s stutter.
  7. critical
    urgently needed; absolutely necessary
    Jesse knows it's critical to bring a dessert with your school lunch, even if it’s just one little cookie wrapped in a napkin.
  8. colonial
    relating to a body of people who settle far from home
    Today was Thursday, and we were making practice butter for our colonial breakfast.
  9. authentic
    not counterfeit or copied
    So I told Miriam about fifth-grade colonial history, how there was a yearlong project with research papers and an authentic colonial-breakfast party next April, I told her about practice butter and heavy cream, and kicking the glass from happiness.
  10. humiliating
    causing embarrassment or awareness of your shortcomings
    “Carrie’s mom was humiliating you, Bea. You got angry. That's normal. Throwing candy isn't a great way of expressing your feelings, and that’s the part that needs to change. But it doesn’t make you a bad person.”
  11. cram
    crowd or pack to capacity
    It was in a big cardboard box, crammed into the fridge, and I yelled “Box!” when I saw it, and pointed.
  12. hysterical
    marked by excessive or uncontrollable emotion
    Mom kept doing hip bumps with us, which I was used to, but which made Lizette laugh until she was almost hysterical.
  13. maneuver
    a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity
    The neighbor realized right away what was wrong and did the Heimlich maneuver on Dad.
  14. fundamental
    serving as an essential component
    Angus had a big fight with his mom about his “fundamental human right” to save his dessert for breakfast.
  15. bureau
    furniture with drawers for keeping clothes
    In my bedroom, Sonia still hadn't put her clothes in the bureau.
Created on Thu Jun 25 20:33:53 EDT 2020 (updated Wed Jul 15 09:52:03 EDT 2020)

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