A World Worth Saving: Chapters 24–32

by Kyle Lukoff
In this novel, a transgender Jewish teenager who is navigating his parents' rejection of his gender meets a golem who asks him to help save the world.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1-8, Chapters 9-15,
Chapters 16-23, Chapters 24-32, Chapter 33-Epilogue
15 words 14 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. tamp
    keep in check or under control
    Tamping down my nervousness, I called the elevator.
  2. emanation
    something that is emitted or radiated
    I reached out my hand and chose one of the light-filled toys, the pirate duck, and watched as the emanation seeped out of it and into my skin.
  3. gawk
    look with amazement
    I pushed open the door and then stopped short, gawking.
  4. plaintive
    expressing sorrow
    I didn’t like the plaintive whine rising in my voice, but it had been a hard day.
  5. terse
    brief and to the point
    It was all medical code, abbreviations and numbers and terse sentences that didn’t mean anything to me.
  6. skedaddle
    run away, as if in a panic
    I wanted to set the place on fire before skedaddling, but the golem counseled me out of it.
  7. humility
    a lack of arrogance or false pride
    “Okay,” I acknowledged with as much humility as I could muster up. “I screwed up. But that proves that I need your help. Right?”
  8. detritus
    the remains of something that has been destroyed or finished
    It was made of random street detritus, ripped-up posters and newspapers and take-out containers.
  9. insurmountable
    impossible to overcome
    My mortal embarrassment at bothering her fought with my total and complete helplessness in the face of this insurmountable task — choosing an outfit, not fighting a politics-demon — and helplessness won.
  10. gilded
    rich and superior in quality
    The gilded front faced a row of benches across the street where people were sleeping, shopping carts full of belongings standing guard.
  11. appraisal
    an expert estimation of the quality of something
    His eyes flickered from my neatly tied tie up to my face, and his sleek eyebrows pulled together in appraisal.
  12. profile
    write about
    “The article is due first thing tomorrow morning, I sure hope there wasn’t a mix-up? We’re profiling all the officials up for re-election, so the seniors know how they want to vote for the first time.”
  13. drivel
    a worthless message
    This blunt honesty was a nice change of pace. At least I knew where he really stood, behind all that family and country drivel.
  14. animosity
    a feeling of ill will arousing active hostility
    That’s not your job, a voice whispered in my head. But not the voice of a righteous dead, telling me something new. Not even the sullen, irritated voice I had gotten used to, egging on my animosity.
  15. unscathed
    not injured
    The golem lifted me off into the air, and the world went blurry as it smashed through the window depositing me, unscathed, on my own two feet.
Created on Wed Oct 01 07:24:02 EDT 2025 (updated Wed Nov 12 12:14:11 EST 2025)

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