The Parker Inheritance: Chapters 9–18

by Varian Johnson
While spending the summer at her grandmother's house in Lambert, South Carolina, Candice finds an intriguing old letter in the attic. She joins forces with a neighbor to follow the clues in the letter and find a hidden treasure — but solving the mystery means uncovering past injustices in Lambert.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–18, Chapters 19–29, Chapters 30–40, Chapters 41–52
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. derogatory
    expressive of low opinion
    Colored was not a derogatory term—certainly not at the turn of the twentieth century.
  2. wiry
    lean but strong
    Cordell Rackley was small and wiry, with skin the color of biscuits that had been cooked for just a minute too long.
  3. curator
    the custodian of a collection, as a museum or library
    It took two days, but Brandon was finally able to reach Ms. Patrice McMillan, his sister’s AP History teacher and the unofficial curator of the Perkins Memorial Room.
  4. cajole
    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
    So with the help of a bike Candice found in her shed—and some extra cajoling of Brandon—they had ridden over to Lambert High School.
  5. atrium
    the central area in a building, open to the sky
    They entered a large atrium at least two stories high.
  6. descent
    the kinship relation between an individual and progenitors
    “Technically she was mixed. Based on the little we could find, we think she was of French descent on her mother’s side. Not that it mattered. Back then, if you had one drop of black blood, you were considered colored.”
  7. sanctioned
    established by authority
    “I’m sure it would have been a very big deal if it had been a real, sanctioned game. But they supposedly played in the middle of the night at one of the high school courts.”
  8. enshrine
    enclose in a place of worship
    A large shelf took up most of the wall, with various trophies, championship plates, and photos enshrined behind glass.
  9. commission
    place an order for
    “That art is worth more than every laptop in the computer lab. It was commissioned specifically for us. Personally, I think our donor wasted his money.”
  10. predecessor
    one who goes before you in time
    “My predecessor came in one morning to find that trophy sitting on her desk. It seemed like someone had gone to a lot of effort to have it made, so she added it to the display. We included a photo of the tennis team from the 1957 yearbook, though we have no idea who played that night.”
  11. inscription
    letters engraved or carved on something
    Candice knelt to get closer to the trophy. She read the inscription for Brandon, then slid over to get a better look at the photo of the tennis team.
  12. sheepish
    showing a sense of shame
    He smiled sheepishly.
  13. sorority
    a social club for female undergraduates
    “My sorority sister invited me to visit. We’ll probably go to a cookout, maybe a movie. She’s a die-hard Braves fan, but I’m not about to let her drag me to a game.”
  14. waver
    be unsure or weak
    Candice had to give him credit—his voice didn’t waver.
  15. threadbare
    thin and tattered with age
    His father wiped the sweat from his brow with a threadbare rag.
  16. sharecropper
    a tenant farmer who owes a portion of each harvest for rent
    “Because you got a chance—a real chance—of being something other than a sharecropper. Your brothers and sister are strong. Good workers. But they don’t got what you got.”
  17. acclimate
    get used to a certain environment
    She helped Enoch acclimate to living in the big city, since the noise, the buildings, the vehicles, and the people were all new to him.
  18. captivate
    attract; cause to be enamored
    She was smart and beautiful, with eyes that could captivate a room, and sweet potato pies that were the best in the county.
  19. cultured
    marked by refinement in taste and manners
    He liked that Leanne came from a cultured family.
  20. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    Candice wasn’t naïve. She had studied the statistics and done the research; she knew her parents weren’t getting back together.
  21. ramble
    continue talking or writing in a purposeless manner
    If one was busy, the other was there to listen as she rambled about her day, or help her with her homework, or whatever.
  22. stance
    a rationalized mental attitude
    “Exactly. She needs to be around other kids.”
    “Other girls.”
    “Seriously, Joe? That's the stance you’re taking?”
  23. reiterate
    say, state, or perform again
    Her mother reiterated that she wanted to wait until the end of the summer to get one, but her father wasn’t having it.
  24. outlandish
    noticeably or extremely unconventional or unusual
    “No, it’s too outlandish to be true. But as she liked to say, just because you don’t see the path doesn’t mean it’s not there.”
  25. presume
    take to be the case or to be true
    “Brandon, I presume?” her father whispered.
  26. shrewd
    marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
    He was a shrewd businessman, but he also gave a lot of money to charities and supported scholarships through his foundation.
  27. skeptical
    marked by or given to doubt
    “Stop being so skeptical. We’re onto something here.”
  28. substantial
    having a firm basis in reality and therefore important
    Some websites added a few small details, but nothing substantial.
  29. unruly
    unable to be governed or controlled
    She had expected the letter writer to be a guy with a wild beard and unruly hair, like those men who lived in the woods and didn’t use technology.
  30. striking
    having a quality that thrusts itself into attention
    But it was his eyes that were the most striking.
  31. smarmy
    unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating
    Her mouth was twisted into a half smile, like she was hiding something. But not in a smarmy way, Candice thought. More like the woman in the Mona Lisa.
  32. knotty
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    His skin seemed so pale against the dark, knotty wood.
  33. stifle
    smother or suppress
    Alton Massey, one of the football players that had just signed out, stifled a grin.
  34. lope
    run easily
    Her mother held the door open for Candice as Brandon loped away.
  35. pretense
    the act of giving a false appearance
    Her mom had never put up any pretenses about being overly religious.
  36. pulpit
    a platform raised to give prominence to the person on it
    A huge wooden cross hung on the wall behind the pulpit, right above the choir members.
  37. plight
    a situation from which extrication is difficult
    The pastor started off talking about the importance of Juneteenth, equating the plight of black slaves to the Israelites in ancient Egypt.
  38. pry
    be nosey
    “Did your mother have friends in town? Not that I’m trying to pry. We’ve just had a few break-ins around the neighborhood, and I wanted to make sure—”
    “It was my dad,” Candice said.
  39. seething
    in constant agitation
    The woman winked, like she didn’t understand at all that Candice was seething on the inside.
  40. successor
    a person who inherits some title or office
    “Well, just so you know, Ms. Caldwell was remarkable. A true friend to this church and the black community, though we didn’t realize it until her successor came along. I heard she moved back to Georgia. How’s she doing?”
Created on Fri Jun 29 19:30:37 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Jul 10 13:25:29 EDT 2018)

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