Goodbye Stranger: Part One

by Rebecca Stead
Bridge, Emily, and Tab are best friends who make a promise never to fight – but when seventh grade arrives, keeping their promise is more difficult than they expected.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

Here are links to our lists for other works by Rebecca Stead: When You Reach Me, Liar & Spy
24 words 532 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. tremble
    move quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways
    Her lids tremble and her eyeballs look like they might disappear into her head.
  2. divot
    a piece of turf dug out of a lawn or fairway
    There’s a divot in it, a crater where everyone dumped acorns, leaves, grass, those poison red berries if there were any.
  3. glossy
    superficially attractive and stylish
    She was always in charge—even then, before you understood it, her beauty was hard to look away from: glossy dark hair and full red lips.
  4. scrawl
    write carelessly
    The short walls are covered with messages scrawled in thick marker, big sloppy hearts and dirty words.
  5. stagger
    walk as if unable to control one's movements
    It was empty, but the three of you took turns holding it, staggering around and pretending to drink—though never touching it to your lips; that would have been disgusting.
  6. suspicious
    openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
    Tab asked, suspicious.
  7. obedient
    dutifully complying with the commands of those in authority
    You watched her blindfold Zoe, who sat obediently on your kitchen floor while Vinny quietly cut a slice from a banana, giggling and telling you to shush.
  8. bearable
    capable of being endured
    She hadn’t gone to your middle school, and her sense of humor made geometry bearable.
  9. nemesis
    a personal foe or rival that cannot be easily defeated
    “He’s my nemesis.”
  10. manipulate
    influence or control shrewdly or deviously
    “You’re being ... manipulated!”
  11. pivot
    turn on an axis
    You sprint toward your room, think again, and pivot on one foot.
  12. elliptical
    rounded like an egg
    “Actually,” Sherm said, reading over her shoulder, “it’s an elliptical orbit. So sometimes it’s closer and sometimes it’s farther away.”
  13. berserk
    frenzied as if possessed by a demon
    When she made it to the final match, even kids in other classes were shouting “Go, Emily!” and everyone went berserk when she won.
  14. interrupt
    make a break in
    Their English teacher, who had been reading aloud from a textbook, interrupted himself to say that he had the attention of 70 percent of the class
  15. dismal
    causing dejection
    and that 70 percent was a “dismal figure.”
  16. desperate
    showing extreme urgency or intensity because of great need
    “That’s why Americans were so desperate to get to the moon before the Russians. They called it the Space Race.”
  17. lucrative
    producing a sizeable profit
    “Boring but lucrative,” their mom said.
  18. irrelevant
    having no bearing on or connection with the subject at issue
    “I told you, I’m not losing this time. So it’s irrelevant.”
  19. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    “That is so cynical!”
  20. collective
    members of a cooperative enterprise
    As artists, we work as a collective—all for one and one for all.
  21. venture
    proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
    As servants, we work for those who venture out alone, otherwise known as the performers.
  22. vulnerable
    susceptible to criticism or persuasion or temptation
    “I want you to feel vulnerable. Do you feel vulnerable? Nod once if you feel vulnerable. Good."
  23. telltale
    disclosing unintentionally
    Then, holding the doorknob so that there is no telltale click, you slip out and close the door behind you.
  24. drone
    make a monotonous low dull sound
    They listened to the drill announcement on the PA, and when it was over, there was a sound like a loud droning dial tone that made Bridge aware of every other person in the room, as if her body had involuntarily flung little Spider-Man threads to each one of them.
Created on Mon Jul 11 09:07:28 EDT 2016 (updated Mon Sep 24 13:36:19 EDT 2018)

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