Everything, Everything: List 1: The White Room - Astronaut Ice Cream

by Nicola Yoon
Diagnosed with a rare immune disorder, Madeline is unable to experience the world outside her protective bubble. But when Olly moves in next door, she must decide whether to risk everything for love.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1: The White Room-Astronaut Ice Cream, List 2: Everything's A Risk-Upside Down, List 3: Skin-Infected, List 4: TTYL-Select All, Delete, List 5: Pretending-This Life

Here is a link to our lists for Nicola Yoon's novel The Sun Is Also a Star
50 words 660 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sterilize
    make free from bacteria
    I imagine each book traveling on a white conveyor belt toward rectangular white stations where robotic white arms dust, scrape, spray, and otherwise sterilize it until it’s finally deemed clean enough to come to me.
  2. bout
    a period of illness
    Anything can trigger a bout of sickness.
  3. trigger
    an act that sets in motion some course of events
    It could be the chemicals in the cleaner used to wipe the table that I just touched. It could be someone’s perfume. It could be the exotic spice in the food I just ate. It could be one, or all, or none of these things, or something else entirely. No one knows the triggers, but everyone knows the consequences.
  4. stethoscope
    a medical instrument for listening to sounds inside the body
    She puts on her stethoscope so that she can listen to my heartbeat.
  5. impulsive
    without forethought
    Impulsively I give her a quick kiss on the forehead to remind her that it’s just me, her favorite patient, her daughter.
  6. omission
    something that has been left out
    Another year of missing all the normal teenagery things—learner’s permit, first kiss, prom, first heartbreak, first fender bender. Another year of my mom doing nothing but working and taking care of me. Every other day these omissions are easy—easier, at least—to ignore.
  7. technically
    according to the exact meaning; according to the facts
    Maybe it’s because I’m eighteen now. Technically, I’m an adult. I should be leaving home, going off to college.
  8. syndrome
    a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease
    My mom should be dreading empty-nest syndrome. But because of SCID, I’m not going anywhere.
  9. ritual
    any customary observance or practice
    This is also part of our birthday ritual: She lights a single candle in the center of the cake.
  10. hormone
    the secretion of an endocrine gland transmitted by the blood
    Rosa is Carla’s seventeen-year-old daughter. According to Carla they were really close until hormones and boys took over. I can’t imagine that happening to my mom and me.
  11. stave off
    prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening
    A truck. Probably just lost, I tell myself, to stave off disappointment. Probably just made a wrong turn on their way to someplace else.
  12. silhouette
    an outline of a solid object as cast by its shadow
    I see the truck and the silhouette of an older woman twirling—the mother.
  13. stark
    complete or extreme
    He’s tall, lean, and wearing all black: black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He’s white with a pale honey tan and his face is starkly angular.
  14. literally
    without exaggeration
    Suddenly he takes off at a sprint and runs literally six feet up the front wall.
  15. flustered
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    I try to smile back, but I’m so flustered that I frown at him instead.
  16. deflate
    collapse by releasing contained air or gas
    I exhale and the walls contract like a pinpricked balloon, crushing me as it deflates. I inhale and the walls expand. A single breath more and my life will finally, finally explode.
  17. surveillance
    close observation of a person or group
    Some mornings he sleeps in until noon. Others, he’s gone from his room before I wake to begin my surveillance.
  18. ornate
    marked by complexity and richness of detail
    Everything at Friday Night Dinner is French. The napkins are white cloth embroidered with fleur-de-lis at the edges. The cutlery is antique French and ornate.
  19. architecture
    the discipline dealing with the design of fine buildings
    “Madeline,” my mom says, “Mr. Waterman tells me that you’re late on your architecture assignment. Is everything all right, baby girl?”
  20. reassure
    give or restore confidence in
    I’m about to reassure her when the doorbell rings.
  21. infrequent
    not occurring regularly or at short intervals
    This happens so infrequently that I don’t know what to make of it.
  22. relent
    give in, as to influence or pressure
    She relents, and I’m off down the hallway with her right behind me.
  23. airtight
    completely sealed so as to prevent gas from moving in or out
    It’s airtight so that no potential hazards can leak into the main house when the front door is open.
  24. filter
    device that removes something from what passes through it
    At first I can’t hear anything over the air filters, but then I hear a voice.
  25. inedible
    not suitable for food
    The thing about my mom’s Bundts is that they are not very good. Terrible. Actually inedible, very nearly indestructible.
  26. cloister
    seclude from the world
    She had a normal life that did not include being cloistered in a bubble for fourteen hours a day with her sick teenage daughter.
  27. mope
    move around slowly and aimlessly
    “How long are you going to mope around the house?” Carla asks. “You’ve been like this all week.”
  28. rejection
    the act of turning something down
    Olly’s rejection has made me feel like a little girl again.
  29. mired
    entangled or hindered
    I’m on my couch, still mired in Lord of the Flies. Mercifully, I’m close to finishing.
  30. contemplate
    consider as a possibility
    The cake trembles and then tilts forward, as if contemplating the distance to the ground.
  31. intact
    undamaged in any way
    Unbelievably, it’s still intact. What is that thing made of? It’s probably best that we didn’t try to eat it.
  32. solemnly
    in a serious and dignified manner
    He’s frowning down at the Bundt and listening for a heartbeat. I want to laugh but I don’t let myself. Olly looks up and shakes his head solemnly.
  33. suppress
    control and refrain from showing
    I close my curtains, suppressing a smile, and walk away.
  34. rite
    an established ceremony prescribed by a religion
    He’s performing last rites of the Bundt.
  35. uxorious
    foolishly fond of or submissive to your wife
    Olly: here’s a game, fast five favorites, book word color vice person
    Olly: come on come on. type faster woman, don’t think just type
    Madeline: Sheesh. The Little Prince. Uxorious. Aquamarine. I don't have any vices. My mom.
  36. macabre
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    Madeline: OK, your turn.
    Olly: same list?
    Madeline: Yes
    Olly: lord of the flies, macabre, black, stealing silverware, my sister
  37. noble
    having high or elevated character
    Also, he's completely gorgeous and noble and dark and brooding and poetic.
  38. brooding
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    Also, he's completely gorgeous and noble and dark and brooding and poetic.
  39. limerick
    a humorous rhymed verse form of five lines
    Olly: what's wrong with a good limerick?
  40. contradiction
    opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas
    Madeline: "Good limerick" is a contradiction in terms.
  41. haiku
    an epigrammatic Japanese verse form of three short lines
    Olly: what’s your favorite?
    Madeline: Haiku.
    Olly: haikus are awful, they're just less fun limericks
  42. heretic
    a person who holds unorthodox opinions in any field
    Madeline: You've been downgraded from heathen to heretic.
  43. vigor
    an imaginative lively style
    I’ve already “planted” miniature plastic palm trees in the grass, and now I’m strategically placing miniature plastic people holding miniature plastic shopping bags to give it the "vigor of life,” as Mr. Waterman would say.
  44. exception
    an instance that does not conform to a rule
    In two years of tutoring I’ve only met Mr. Waterman in person twice. Usually all of my tutoring, including architecture, takes place via Skype. My mom made a special exception this week.
  45. thorough
    performed comprehensively and completely
    Having a visitor is a big deal because they have to agree to a medical background check and a thorough physical. Also they have to be decontaminated, which is basically like getting a high-speed air bath for about an hour. It’s a pain to come see me.
  46. harried
    troubled persistently, especially with petty annoyances
    Mr. Waterman bustles in looking merry but harried, like Santa Claus on Christmas Eve just before the big ride.
  47. tutor
    a person who gives private instruction
    He’s my favorite of all my tutors. He never looks at me pityingly and he loves architecture like I love architecture. If I were going to be something when I grew up, an architect is what I would be.
  48. bulky
    of large size for its weight
    This time he’s in full astronaut gear complete with airtight helmet and bulky oxygen tank, sitting in the diner at a table piled high with food.
  49. miniature
    being on a very small scale
    I’ve made miniature banana split sundaes, blueberry pancake stacks, scrambled eggs, toast with butter and marmalade, bacon, milk shakes (strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla), cheeseburgers, and fries.
  50. scrumptious
    extremely pleasing to the sense of taste
    “It’s just wonderful, my dear. But how will he eat all that scrumptious food with his helmet on?”
Created on Thu Aug 24 13:45:22 EDT 2017 (updated Tue Sep 12 14:52:55 EDT 2017)

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