City of Saints and Thieves: Chapters 1–9

by Natalie C. Anderson
Following the murder of her mother, sixteen-year old Tina is on a quest for revenge. She must survive Sangui City's dangerous streets while waiting for a chance to avenge her mother's death.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–9, Chapters 10–18, Chapters 19–26, Chapters 27–37, Chapters 38–44
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. implore
    beg or request earnestly and urgently
    Implore for me progress, that vanquishing
    
the enemies of my soul
    I may be victorious in my last combat

    and after death
    
be conducted by the angels.
  2. vanquish
    defeat in a competition, race, or conflict
    Implore for me progress, that vanquishing
    
the enemies of my soul
    I may be victorious in my last combat

    and after death
    
be conducted by the angels.
  3. materialize
    come into being; become reality
    A guard dog materializes from the darkness and rushes toward me.
  4. emphatic
    forceful and definite in expression or action
    It has a cartoon of happy kids on the front, and the words SCHOOL DAYS! in dark, emphatic capitals.
  5. dhow
    a one- or two-masted sailing vessel with triangular sails
    But there are no bodies tonight, just a handful of wooden dhows anchored in the current, fishermen asleep in their hulls.
  6. malevolent
    wishing or appearing to wish evil to others
    A peephole opens to reveal a malevolent eye.
  7. petulant
    easily irritated or annoyed
    “You’re late,” he says, skinny arms folded over his chest, petulant scowl on his face.
  8. prattle
    idle or foolish and irrelevant talk
    Ketchup’s constant prattle makes me nervous.
  9. lush
    produced or growing in extreme abundance
    The Ring is where you live if you can afford it. Lush, hilly, and green, it sits above Sangui City, peering down its nose at the rest of us.
  10. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    “Don’t you trust me?” Boyboy chides through the earpiece.
  11. amble
    walk leisurely
    I hear footsteps swishing in the wet grass, and soon two guards amble by on their rounds.
  12. foliage
    the collective amount of leaves of one or more plants
    I level my breath, tensing to slide back into the foliage if they come near, but they walk on, oblivious.
  13. plush
    characterized by extravagance and softness
    The plush carpet muffles my feet.
  14. mogul
    a very wealthy or powerful businessperson
    Mrs. Greyhill comes from a family of real estate moguls, and Mr. Greyhill’s mining wealth doesn’t hurt.
  15. flank
    be located at the sides of something or somebody
    On the far side of the room a desk the size of a small rhinoceros sprawls in front of flanking bookshelves.
  16. stance
    standing posture
    Still, he’s aiming with a military stance. Even if he’s never shot a living, breathing human, he’s practiced. He knows how to hold the gun, how to aim it, how to keep his body loose to absorb the kickback.
  17. lapse
    pass into a specified state or condition
    “Is that really you? What are you doing here?” he croaks, lapsing into coughs.
  18. hackles
    a feeling of anger and animosity
    For a few long seconds we don’t move, just stand there, hackles up, ready to rip into each other, waiting for an opening.
  19. ratchet
    move by degrees in one direction only
    Michael picks a chain up off the floor. It has handcuffs attached to the end and he ratchets me in.
  20. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    I eye him warily. And then what? I want to ask.
  21. glower
    look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval
    I glower at him, but do what he says.
  22. incredulity
    doubt about the truth of something
    “You were just robbing us.” Michael’s voice drips with incredulity. “You realize this place is a fortress, right? How did you even get in?”
  23. disposal
    the power to use something or someone
    I threw myself at him, using my fingernails, my teeth, my toes, every ounce of raw pain I had at my disposal.
  24. scrutiny
    the act of examining something closely, as for mistakes
    It’s true that Extracta’s already under scrutiny, though.
  25. launder
    transfer funds to hide the source of money gotten illegally
    Militias and the Congolese army are fighting, and to keep fighting they need money and weapons. They use slave labor to mine gold, and your dad buys it on the cheap from them. Then he launders that gold through Extracta’s mines, acting like it’s all shiny and conflict free.
  26. cultivate
    teach or refine to be discriminative in taste or judgment
    I tell myself to calm down, to let the numbness I’ve worked so hard to cultivate sweep me under.
  27. prevail
    prove superior
    I could have tried going to the police. I could have told them what I’d seen and heard, let them investigate, waited for justice to prevail.
  28. makeshift
    done or made using whatever is available
    He found me alone in the Goondas’ makeshift gym a few days after I blubbered to Bug Eye.
  29. distinction
    a discrimination between things as different
    You practice at it every day, until there is no distinction between you and it. It is you.
  30. revered
    profoundly honored
    But around here a Big Man is as good as royalty. He’ll still die revered, feared, and admired.
Created on Tue Aug 23 10:30:02 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Sep 23 12:42:43 EDT 2022)

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