Aisle Nine: Chapters 1—5

by Ian X. Cho
The apocalypse is coming for Here For You discount mart, and Jasper, the teenage checkout clerk with no family and no memories, must join up with his crush, Kyle, to figure out the truth behind the mysterious portal in aisle nine before all hell breaks loose.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–15, Chapters 16–19, Chapters 20–25
15 words 38 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sinewy
    possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful
    A sinewy guy with freakishly large knuckles, Ollie maneuvers around the aisle and almost manages to use his flamethrower to barbecue the yellow pom.pom.
  2. euphoria
    a feeling of great elation
    But even though her stare conveys aggravation, I still get a burst of euphoria and giddy hopefulness.
  3. phantasmagoric
    characterized by fantastic and incongruous imagery
    Phantasmagoric beasts, the likes of which the world had never seen before, spilled out into streets, offices, homes.
  4. incursion
    an attack that penetrates into enemy territory
    But eventually, the world’s militaries managed to slay the demons and hold back subsequent incursions.
  5. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    Without thinking, I gingerly rubbed the plastic fur on her neck, and well, you know what they say: cats choose their humans.
  6. derelict
    in deplorable condition
    Lieutenant Shiner is talking about a recent battle on Gazer Boulevard—a derelict neighborhood occupied by homeless people.
  7. congregation
    group that habitually attends a particular place of worship
    “We must always speak truth,” says the pastor, holding his hands out to his congregation.
  8. denounce
    speak out against
    “To truly fight evil, we must always denounce the darkness for exactly what it is!”
  9. delirium
    state of violent mental agitation
    They’ve developed a condition called Doomsday Delirium.
  10. ergo
    (used as a sentence connector) therefore or consequently
    “To get this bonus, we’ll need to bring in the most profit of any Here For You mart in the country. Ergo, this place will need to be a shopper’s paradise.”
  11. pivot
    make a significant change in position, strategy, or process
    Shiner laughs good-naturedly but then pivots to a more important topic: VC’s plans for Black Friday.
  12. allege
    report or maintain
    They allege that VC let the battle spill out of control in order to clear away homeless folks—and allow them to redevelop the area.
  13. catalyst
    something that causes an important event to happen
    “Nah, dude. If you are starting to develop DD, then the catalyst event has to be more recent than Hell Portal Day. Like, I dunno . . . maybe something that occurred a few months ago?”
  14. tourniquet
    a bandage that stops the flow of blood by applying pressure
    Gutierrez runs over to Ollie, then pulls out his belt to create a tourniquet to keep Ollie from bleeding out.
  15. compensate
    do or give something to somebody in return
    The VC app has sensed a monster attack—based on Kyle’s call to Vanguard, or maybe the CCTV—and it’s awarded the boy points to compensate him for witnessing violence.
Created on Tue Sep 23 07:16:57 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Dec 09 15:22:46 EST 2025)

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