I Kissed Shara Wheeler: Chapters 4–9

by Casey McQuiston
High school senior Chloe Green has been working hard to become the valedictorian of Willowgrove Christian Academy, so when her main competition, Shara Wheeler, suddenly disappears, she is determined to find her and prove that the honor has been fairly earned.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–9, Chapters 10–14, Chapters 15–19, Chapters 20–25
35 words 18 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. unrequited
    not returned in kind
    I cannot spend my first year away from home with an unrequited crush on a guy who wears neckties to football games.
  2. seersucker
    a light puckered fabric that is usually striped
    “You’ll either meet a guy who owns five seersucker suits or a guy who wants to drive you around on the back of his ATV, and either way, you get to have a whirlwind romance under a dramatic canopy of oak trees.”
  3. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    “Do you want to be friends with Ace Torres?”
    “No,” Benjy says haughtily.
  4. matinee
    a theatrical performance held during the daytime
    Because of course Ace’s best friend is Smith Parker, which means Smith came to the matinee performance of Phantom last month, which means he brought Shara, which means Chloe had to do an entire show pretending not to notice Shara front and center with her judgy face and shiny hair and—
  5. scrutinize
    look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail
    By the girls’ bathroom, Mrs. Sherman is at her usual post, permed and scrutinizing passing students like the Eye of Sauron but with clumpy mascara.
  6. travesty
    a distorted, debased, or absurd imitation of something
    She is not repeating the junior year travesty of losing her lead in Ms. Rodkey’s class by a single point.
  7. fanatical
    marked by excessive enthusiasm for a cause or idea
    Nobody loves rules like Brooklyn, student body president, head of the debate team and Model UN, editor in chief of the yearbook—basically a list of extracurriculars with a skirt on. Chloe has to admire her fanatical tunnel vision, but if she’s high-strung, Brooklyn Bennett is a $20,000 viola.
  8. infer
    conclude by reasoning
    It was easy to look into those round, innocent eyes and infer kindness when there was nothing else there.
  9. incremental
    increasing gradually by regular degrees or additions
    Shara’s face was smooth and unreadable, except for the incremental raise of her left eyebrow, which said, prove it.
  10. grating
    unpleasantly harsh in sound
    “Wheeler, man, you already know what’s up,” a gratingly familiar voice says from the short hall that connects the principal’s office to reception.
  11. trappings
    ornaments; embellishments to or characteristic signs of
    Chloe takes her seat in Mr. Wheeler’s office, a small room with all the trappings of a Good Old Alabama Boy: mounted trout, wraparound Oakley sunglasses with camo Croakies on the bookshelf, photos of himself as a Willowgrove senior in his football uniform.
  12. drawl
    speak in a slow and drawn out way
    “Chloe Green,” a deep voice drawls.
  13. geniality
    a disposition to be friendly and approachable
    There’s a pause a millisecond too long, and she sees something flash in his eyes the way she has a few times before, when she catches a crack in his fake geniality—something like contempt, or maybe even fear.
  14. contempt
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    There’s a pause a millisecond too long, and she sees something flash in his eyes the way she has a few times before, when she catches a crack in his fake geniality—something like contempt, or maybe even fear.
  15. ominously
    in a manner suggesting something bad will happen
    He leans back in his chair, springs groaning ominously.
  16. resounding
    characterized by loud, deep sound
    “Play the first note.”
    He does—that solid, resounding middle C—and Chloe hears it.
  17. straggle
    go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way
    As soon as the door shuts behind them, before Mr. Truman or any of her classmates come straggling in from lunch, she crosses to the upright piano.
  18. affable
    diffusing warmth and friendliness
    Dixon is a particular variety of affable jerk prevalent in Alabama: the type who insists it’s okay for him to make offensive jokes because he’s not actually racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic/whatever so he doesn’t actually mean them, but aren’t the jokes so funny?
  19. prevalent
    most frequent or common
    Dixon is a particular variety of affable jerk prevalent in Alabama: the type who insists it’s okay for him to make offensive jokes because he’s not actually racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic/whatever so he doesn’t actually mean them, but aren’t the jokes so funny?
  20. wry
    humorously sarcastic or mocking
    Smith’s expression turns wry. “You for real right now?”
  21. doggedly
    with obstinate determination
    “I know it’s a thing,” Smith says doggedly.
  22. objectively
    in a manner not influenced by emotion
    She doesn’t have to wonder what Shara sees in him. It’s objectively obvious.
  23. hedge
    avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing
    “No,” Chloe hedges, “I said I was going out with a friend. Which was true because I went to the party with a friend. Well, technically I met him there, but we went together.”
  24. perturbed
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    Chloe’s sure the word “records” is a reference to Rory’s music collection and wants to do a search of his room, but he responded via perturbed voice note this morning that he’s perfectly capable of looking on his own and neither of them are allowed back in his room ever again.
  25. anarchist
    an advocate of the abolition of governments
    “Why did I raise you to be so responsible? I was supposed to raise you to be an anarchist.”
  26. carabiner
    an oblong metal ring with a spring clip
    In the end, Chloe’s mom gifted Georgia a carabiner for her seventeenth birthday, and she chopped off her hair above her shoulders and it all came together.
  27. liability
    something that holds you back
    It should be noted that she was not wearing her hair back per lab rules. While this was not an issue for this particular lab, it is a liability and a distraction, and the rules apply to EVERYONE.
  28. compulsory
    required by rule
    Once a week, classes shift to an abbreviated schedule to make room for a compulsory hour-long service in the sanctuary on campus.
  29. extraction
    taking out something
    Chloe glances toward the last pews, where Georgia is sitting wild-eyed between Ash and Benjy, looking ready to mount a Navy SEAL extraction mission.
  30. flush
    turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame
    A ripple of giggles breaks out, and Chloe feels her face flush.
  31. harrow
    cause to feel distress
    Chloe crosses her arms and wishes she were in the back row exchanging harrowed eye contact with Georgia instead of feeling Mackenzie’s bony elbow in her side.
  32. exude
    make apparent by one's mood or behavior
    Chloe stares up at April and Jake, both exuding an air of disaffection...
  33. logistics
    supplying an operation with labor and materials as needed
    “Can we talk logistics? I’ve spent a lot of time in Wheeler’s office, so I know the layout pretty well.”
  34. contemplative
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    Rory does a contemplative lip bite.
  35. wistful
    showing pensive sadness
    He answers, in the wistful voice of someone announcing a long-awaited fantasy: “The air ducts.”
Created on Mon Apr 10 11:31:01 EDT 2023 (updated Thu Jun 01 14:12:09 EDT 2023)

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