Root Magic: Chapters 14–23

by Eden Royce
Eleven-year-old twins Jezebel and Jay must use their family's legacy of magic to fight against evil forces in South Carolina during the 1960s.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–13, Chapters 14–23
30 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    Beside me, Jay’s face was solemn.
  2. prompt
    urge, encourage, or motivate someone to act
    "Jez?" Mama prompted.
  3. foible
    a minor weakness or peculiarity in someone's character
    “Chirren got all kinda foibles nowadays. Running around wild, doing all they wanna do.”
  4. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    Birdsong accompanied us, along with the scuttle of fat-cheeked squirrels searching for nuts among the trees.
  5. scuffle
    walk by dragging one's feet
    While I walked with Susie, all I could hear was the sound of home. The wind through the live oak trees. Our shoes scuffling on the hard-packed dirt.
  6. canister
    a round container for storing dry foods such as flour
    I grabbed the metal canister of rice Mama kept on the counter, the shaking grains sounding like a rattlesnake’s warning.
  7. tussle
    disorderly fighting
    “A fight in the house?” He stroked his salt-and-pepper beard. “Now that is bad. Would have been better if you had a tussle in the front yard. Get it outta your system.”
  8. stub
    strike accidentally against an object
    “I stubbed my baby toe! I think it’s broke!”
  9. grub
    a soft thick wormlike larva of certain insects
    "Ughh!" I groaned, hunching over and curling up like a grub to avoid the light.
  10. incense
    a substance that produces a fragrant odor when burned
    Doc motioned for us to sit while he showed us how to measure the strength of the herbs and roots that would go into the potions and incense he made.
  11. taint
    contaminate with a disease or microorganism
    What you’ll be left with after you remove the jinx is tainted, and until you learn how to keep the tainted water safely, be sure you dispose of it somewhere so you don’t get anything sticking to you or the customer.
  12. jolt
    move or cause to move with a sudden jerky motion
    I must have drifted off into sleep, because the next thing I knew, something was nudging me and I jolted.
  13. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    Jay sprawled out on his bed, mouth open and snoring.
  14. anoint
    administer an oil or ointment to, often ceremonially
    This time when he looked at me, he chose another candle from the shelf behind him and anointed it with oil.
  15. anticipation
    expecting with confidence of fulfillment
    I floated up, not afraid this time. Through trees and higher. I rose past clouds, fat with rain. I didn’t feel cold or scared; I felt wonder stirred with anticipation and a sense of homecoming.
  16. colander
    bowl-shaped strainer used to wash or drain foods
    Mama dumped a colander full of cleaned shrimp in a pot.
  17. blare
    make a strident sound
    Jay climbed up next to me as a horn blared, cutting through the gentle night sounds of the marsh.
  18. residue
    matter that remains after something has been removed
    Doc motioned for us to do the same, and we washed our hands in the smoke-scented water. An oily residue rose to the top of the water.
  19. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    The new dress I got for her was already starting to look dingy.
  20. hamper
    a basket usually with a cover
    Then I put Dinah’s old dress, which Mama had washed and ironed, back on her. The new one I left on my bed to put in the hamper later.
  21. racket
    a loud and disturbing noise
    If I fell, all the glass bottles and jars on his shelves would come crashing down around me and make a huge racket.
  22. sliver
    a small thin sharp bit of wood, glass, or metal
    As I fiddled with the box more, a thin piece of wood slid away. I gasped, thinking I broke it, but when I looked, the sliver of wood revealed a keyhole.
  23. oblong
    deviating from a shape by being elongated in one direction
    Since our tree made papershell pecans, Jay and me would take two of the oblong nuts in one hand and press them together until the shells cracked.
  24. overwhelming
    very intense
    Flames crackled, adding the scent of burning pine to the overwhelming smells from all of Doc’s potions and oils combined.
  25. funky
    having an offensive or unpleasant smell
    As the wind blew, it shifted the smells: sweet spices to bitter moss to a plain funky, nasty stink.
  26. dungaree
    a coarse durable cotton fabric used to make jeans
    Deputy Collins grinned and pulled up his dungarees at the waist. “Thing is, as an officer of the law, don’t matter what I got on when it comes to doing my job.”
  27. apparently
    seemingly; as far as one can tell
    She knew he was right; the laws didn’t protect us—they were apparently only there to protect whites from us.
  28. prance
    spring forward on the hind legs
    Soon, five wolves stood in a circle under me, yipping softly and prancing around.
  29. jurisdiction
    the territory within which power can be exercised
    “Have I got myself a family of witches within my jurisdiction?”
  30. bulrush
    tall marsh plant with cylindrical seed heads
    She walked through the bulrushes and cordgrass to the very edge of the marsh’s waterline.
Created on Tue May 17 10:46:03 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Jun 10 10:45:42 EDT 2022)

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