Between Shades of Gray: Chapter 63-Epilogue

by Ruta Sepetys
During World War II, a Lithuanian girl named Lina is detained by Soviet soldiers and taken to a work camp in Siberia, where she must fight to survive.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-13, Chapters 14-28, Chapters 29-44, Chapters 45-62, Chapter 63-Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. clobber
    strike violently and repeatedly
    “Well, I missed her at first. I kept crying and crying. A guard told me to stop crying. I tried, but I couldn’t. He clobbered me in the head. See my scar?” she said, pointing to a thick red fold on her forehead.
  2. scurvy
    a condition caused by deficiency of ascorbic acid
    His scurvy spots hadn’t entirely disappeared.
  3. emaciated
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    Pink blotches dotted his emaciated rib cage.
  4. sprightly
    full of spirit and vitality
    The tall man, the repeater, spoke sprightly, convinced of America, America.
  5. yearning
    prolonged unfulfilled desire or need
    I wasn’t convinced of anything, except my yearning to see Papa, Andrius, and home.
  6. metronome
    clicking pendulum indicating the tempo of a piece of music
    The stillness of the ground felt wonderful, as if a hand had stopped a metronome.
  7. androgynous
    having both male and female characteristics
    Our shrunken bodies appeared almost androgynous.
  8. impenetrable
    not admitting of passage into or through
    I saw no human beings. The dark forest seemed to surround us, impenetrable.
  9. rucksack
    a bag carried by a strap on your back or shoulder
    He carried a rucksack.
  10. buoyant
    characterized by liveliness and lightheartedness
    A week later spirits were still buoyant.
  11. moor
    secure in or as if in a berth or dock
    The icy waves of the Laptev Sea crashed against the barge as it was moored to the shore.
  12. barren
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    It was completely uninhabited, not a single bush or tree, just barren dirt to a shore of endless water.
  13. protrude
    extend out or project in space
    His corroded teeth protruded from under his top lip.
  14. bile
    a digestive juice secreted by the liver
    Now my heart sank into my stomach where the bile began to chew it.
  15. pry
    move or force in an effort to get something open
    Mother threw herself on Janina’s mother and pried her fingers from her daughter's neck.
  16. mortar
    a substance used as a bond in masonry or for covering a wall
    I saw a woman digging up moss with her hands and using it as mortar between the rocks.
  17. threadbare
    thin and tattered with age
    The wind blew through my threadbare coat.
  18. demotion
    act of lowering in rank or position
    Mrs. Rimas said she heard Ivanov had been reassigned from a prison in Krasnoyarsk. The assignment in Trofimovsk had to be a demotion.
  19. duvet
    a soft quilt usually filled with down
    I took the papers and flopped down on my bed, sinking into my puffy goose-down duvet.
  20. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    I saw his tentative eyes, handing me Dombey and Son, and his reassurance as the truck pulled away.
  21. wager
    stake on the outcome of an issue
    He said he’d find me. Did he know where they had taken us? That they laughed and wagered upon our deaths? Find me, I whispered.
  22. bustle
    a rapid active commotion
    I believed him, not because of the pale gray of the sky, but because of the bustle of the NKVD.
  23. loathing
    hate coupled with disgust
    Kretzky took a step closer, reaching to help Mother. Loathing purged from my mouth. “Get away from her! Stay away. I hate you. Do you hear me? I HATE YOU!”
  24. engrossed
    giving or marked by complete attention to
    I gasped, then pretended I was engrossed in the book.
  25. stifle
    smother or suppress
    I had to stifle my laughter.
  26. bulbous
    rounded and bulging
    It was mid-December. Winter had us in its jaws. The repeater had frostbite. The tips of his fingers were puckered, jet black. Gray, bulbous lumps appeared on the end of his nose.
  27. raptor
    a carnivorous bird that hunts other animals
    The large raptor had tiny brown speckles on its head and trunk.
  28. delirium
    a usually brief state of excitement and mental confusion
    He moved to a jurta where people had similar symptoms—fever, rash, some delirium.
  29. innards
    the organs in a body, collectively
    White foxes had eaten into his stomach, exposing his innards and staining the snow with blood.
  30. feign
    make believe with the intent to deceive
    “Really?” he said, feigning concern.
  31. ingrate
    a person who shows no thankfulness or appreciation
    “I can give you that. No bread today, you ingrate. Get to work! Davai!”
  32. instinctive
    unthinking
    “I’m sorry,” I said instinctively. Why did I say that? I didn’t care.
  33. agape
    with the mouth wide open as in wonder or awe
    He lay completely still on a plank, his cheeks hollow, his mouth agape.
  34. void
    containing nothing
    Suddenly, his eyes opened with a void stare.
  35. tribunal
    an assembly to conduct judicial business
    “They have to. I am an inspection officer. I could make a report to the tribunal. They want me to leave and report that everything is fine here, that I saw nothing out of the ordinary. That’s what they expect.”
Created on Tue Mar 27 19:25:22 EDT 2018 (updated Thu Mar 29 13:43:44 EDT 2018)

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