We Are Okay: Chapters 14-30

by Nina LaCour
Marin moved across the country for college to try to escape her past. But when her best friend comes to visit, Marin must finally confront the memories she left behind. Learn key vocabulary from this novel, winner of the 2018 Printz Award.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-3, Chapters 4-6, Chapters 7-13, Chapters 14-30
30 words 27 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. doctorate
    one of the highest earned degrees conferred by a university
    "Is that where they're living now?"
    "Yeah, until Griselda finishes her doctorate..."
  2. expansive
    able or tending to extend in one or more directions
    I don't know if I've ever thought this way about the expansiveness of a life.
  3. capsize
    overturn accidentally
    Knowing that they'll grow older as time passes, they'll become old the way Gramps was, with gray hair and a tremble in his step, so much love still in their hearts—this astonishes me. I am capsized.
  4. lieu
    the post or function properly occupied or served by another
    I listen to her ideas about nurseries and what she'll do in lieu of a baby shower since she won't be able to travel that far during the spring semester.
  5. taper
    diminish gradually
    Slowly, the dinners tapered off altogether.
  6. oblivion
    the state of being disregarded or forgotten
    A summer so bright and warm it made me believe the heat would linger, that there would always be more days, that blood on handkerchiefs was an exercise in stain removal and not a sign of oblivion.
  7. matinee
    a theatrical performance held during the daytime
    We ate fish-and-chips in a dark pub that belonged in a different country, and we collected beach glass instead of shells, and we kissed in the redwoods, we kissed in the water, we kissed in movie theaters all over the city during matinees and late-night showings.
  8. ricochet
    spring back; spring away from an impact
    We didn't talk about the blood on the handkerchiefs or the coughs that ricocheted from the back of my house.
  9. intangible
    incapable of being perceived by the senses, especially touch
    I thought he might tell me about something intangible. An aura I gave off or a gesture I made.
  10. aura
    distinctive but intangible quality around a person or thing
    I thought he might tell me about something intangible. An aura I gave off or a gesture I made.
  11. smolder
    burn slowly and without a flame
    I saw him. Couldn't believe it but there he was at his desk. Cigarette smoldering in the crystal ashtray, pen in hand, staring blankly off.
  12. duplicity
    the act of deceiving or acting in bad faith
    I wanted a lecture about anything. The correct name for a coffee establishment. The duplicity of nuns.
  13. convoluted
    highly complex or intricate
    Maybe my mind was taking me in convoluted directions.
  14. erratic
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
    "Was he acting erratic?" one of them asked.
  15. cavernous
    being or suggesting a large dark enclosed space
    The loss snuck up on me, black and cavernous.
  16. confounded
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    I'd suggest going somewhere, just out for a walk even, but we're both confounded by the cold.
  17. sacrilege
    blasphemous behavior
    Putting dirty clothes back on was a sacrilege.
  18. emblazon
    decorate, adorn, or inscribe with a design
    All of them emblazoned with the school colors and mascot.
  19. evasion
    a statement that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth
    She saved me with seats next to her in the dining hall, with quick evasions when people asked me questions I couldn't answer, with chapters read aloud and forced trips off campus and rides to the grocery store and a pair of winter boots.
  20. collusion
    secret agreement
    We were masters of collusion, Gramps and I. In that, at least, we were together.
  21. novelty
    originality by virtue of being refreshingly new
    I want the thunder of ocean, a day that's cold but dry, the feeling that comes with heavy clouds in the distance. Relief from the drought. The novelty of being homebound.
  22. satiated
    supplied, especially fed, to satisfaction
    I run to the top, not to take in the view but to feel myself moving, and I run and I yell and I run, until I've gone up and down each hallway of each floor. Until I'm panting and sweaty and satiated in some small but vital way.
  23. warp
    bend or twist out of shape
    Her boots were dry by then—we'd set them right next to the radiator and left them there all night—but they were blotchy and warped.
  24. anecdote
    short account of an incident
    Ana and Javier lead the conversation, full of gentle teasing of Mabel and one another, full of anecdotes and exuberance, and afterward we have a cab take us to Stop & Shop and wait as we race through the aisles, grabbing everything on the list.
  25. earnest
    devout or heartfelt
    It's too much coming from her mouth and the look in her eyes is too earnest and I'm too overwhelmed to answer.
  26. imminent
    close in time; about to occur
    It's more likely and more imminent.
  27. bleak
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    It begins with Jane as a young woman, rushing from Thornfield, crying. Another shot, she's alone against a bleak landscape. A sky on fire, thunder, rain.
  28. omission
    leaving out or passing over something
    There are so many lies of omission.
  29. exert
    put to use
    Jane says, "I am a free human being with an independent will, which I now exert to leave you.'"
  30. orchestrate
    plan and direct (a complex undertaking)
    And when Ana turns to me, I realize that our solitude has been orchestrated.
Created on Wed May 02 10:04:39 EDT 2018 (updated Wed May 02 10:56:49 EDT 2018)

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