The Impossible Knife of Memory: Chapters 1–27

by Laurie Halse Anderson
After years of instability, Hayley and her father, Andy, return to Andy's hometown to make a fresh start. But Andy's PTSD from the Iraq War and Hayley's own traumatic memories threaten their ability to rebuild their lives.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–27, Chapters 28–48, Chapters 49–69, Chapters 70–94
30 words 208 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. gerund
    a noun formed from a verb
    I muttered forbidden gerunds. (You know, the words that end in “ing”? The -ings that we’re not supposed to say? Don’t ask me why, none of it makes sense.)
  2. curt
    brief and to the point
    For one frozen second I stared at him...then I nodded curtly, chin down, respectful.
  3. rig
    a truck consisting of a tractor and trailer together
    They were the only reason I went along with his ridiculous plan to quit trucking and settle down into a so-called “normal life.” I let him think that he was right, that spending my senior year in a high school instead of riding shotgun in his big rig was a practical and exciting idea.
  4. denotation
    the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression
    “Denotation,” said the new guy. “The precise meaning of a word, without any pesky implications attached to it.”
  5. implication
    a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred
    “Denotation,” said the new guy. “The precise meaning of a word, without any pesky implications attached to it.”
  6. motif
    a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work
    “A literary motif is a recurring object, idea, or structure. You forgot structure.”
  7. assimilate
    become like one's environment
    The halls surged with a parade of beautiful strangers. They laughed too loud. Flirted. Shrieked. Raced. They kissed. Shoved. Tripped. Shouted. Posed. Chased. Flaunted. Taunted. Galloped. Sang.
    Fully assimilated zombies.
  8. hypocrisy
    pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not have
    “Mandatory community service” seemed like hypocrisy, but Benedetti cared more about attendance lists than philosophy.
  9. quarry
    a surface excavation for extracting stone or slate
    Was he with that group of guys who got in trouble for the party at the quarry after the championship game?
  10. haggard
    showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
    Now you are burnt-out husks, your spirits haggard, sere,
    always brooding over your wanderings long and hard,
    your hearts never lifting with any joy—
    you’ve suffered far too much.
  11. sere
    having lost all moisture
    Now you are burnt-out husks, your spirits haggard, sere,
    always brooding over your wanderings long and hard,
    your hearts never lifting with any joy—
    you’ve suffered far too much.
  12. arcane
    requiring secret or mysterious knowledge
    “Really smart people don’t flaunt it. Besides, ‘nor’ is arcane.”
    "‘Arcane’ is arcane.”
  13. ratchet
    device consisting of a toothed wheel moving in one direction
    “Get me a quarter-inch ratchet, will you? Ten-mil socket.”
    I rolled out, found the right wrench in the tool chest, rolled back under and handed it to him.
  14. vise
    a holding device attached to a workbench
    “But I’ll lie about the doctor’s appointment if you get me the vise grips and a beer.”
  15. bureau
    furniture with drawers for keeping clothes
    I turned off the phone, opened the top drawer of my bureau, and pulled out my hunting knife from under my pile of socks.
  16. vendetta
    a blood feud between members of opposing parties
    My math teacher had a vendetta against me and as proof I offer the fact that I had not been told about Wednesday’s test.
  17. skepticism
    doubt about the truth of something
    “The skepticism on your face proves that my cover story is tight. That’s good, reduces the chance that civilians might be harmed.”
  18. coerce
    cause to do through pressure or necessity
    "I didn’t coerce you into cutting class. You offered the ride.”
  19. commandeer
    take arbitrarily or by force
    Two soccer players commandeered the stationary bikes.
  20. solvent
    a liquid substance capable of dissolving other substances
    The dining room table was covered with newspapers, cleaning rods, a double-ended breech-brush, used patches, and rags stained with barrel oil, solvents, and gunpowder.
  21. sidebar
    a short, boxed section of text accompanying the main text
    He was having a good day and I was going to have a good day and before I knew it, I’d written a sidebar piece to the library article filled with the URLs of made-up websites for students who wanted help with their homework.
  22. forensics
    the use of scientific techniques in criminal investigations
    The sub in forensics was a retired cop who told us real stories about blood-spatter patterns and estimating when a murder had been committed by the age of the maggots and flies on the corpse.
  23. satire
    a literary genre that uses humor to ridicule human failings and vices
    “Also, it wouldn’t hurt if you wrote a few more satire pieces for what we hope is going to be a newspaper one of these days.”
  24. botch
    make a mess of, destroy, or ruin
    He said you wanted a regular opinion column. It might be a good idea, as long as your grade comes up and you don’t get controversial...nothing about today’s botched lockdown drill, okay?
  25. obstinate
    refusing to change one's mind or ways; difficult to convince
    I tried. I really did, but it was ten million degrees in the library, and Finn was being an obstinate jerk.
  26. hackles
    a feeling of anger and animosity
    "Why?" I asked, hackles instantly up.
  27. bedraggled
    limp, untidy, and soiled
    The bus stopped, wheezed open the doors, and let off another group of bedraggled students.
  28. maul
    a heavy long-handled hammer used to drive stakes or wedges
    A soldier stripped to the waist was chopping wood with a splitting maul.
  29. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    Four small tents had been set up, too, poles straight and strings taut.
  30. profound
    of the greatest intensity; complete
    Roy and his guys would have Dad’s back if Michael wanted to do anything profoundly stupid.
Created on Mon Jan 04 13:10:31 EST 2021 (updated Fri Jan 08 12:16:03 EST 2021)

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