Willodeen: Chapters 8–16

by Katherine Applegate
After a birthday gift brings magic to eleven-year-old Willodeen and her friend Connor, Willodeen goes on a mission to protect her favorite strange beasts known as screechers.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–16, Chapters 17–22, Chapters 23–29, Chapters 30–41
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. lurch
    move abruptly
    My heart lurched. “No!” I screamed, but my voice got lost in the cries of Sir Zurt and the lumbering steps of approaching hunters.
  2. stocky
    having a short and solid form or stature
    Through the branches, I could make out two men carrying bows, with quivers of arrows strapped to their backs. One man was short, dark-haired, and stocky. The other was tall, with a thick gray beard and large belly.
  3. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    He held out his hand, and, to my annoyance, Duuzuu clambered out of my pocket, up Connor’s arm, and onto his shoulder.
  4. cower
    show submission or fear
    “That’s the screecher girl,” Primrose said as they walked past me.
    Normally I would have cowered, but I was mad. And anger made me louder.
    “It’s my new perfume!” I yelled to their backs. “Do you like it?”
  5. mesmerize
    attract strongly, as if with a magnet
    Beside me, the blue willows swayed in the breeze. Their long leaves had already turned silver on one side and deep blue on the other. They were mesmerizing in their fall colors.
  6. shard
    a broken piece of a brittle artifact
    All gone. All gone, but a shard of Ma’s teapot that I’d found in the charred remains of my home.
  7. crotchety
    having a difficult and contrary disposition
    Mae and Birdie were impossibly old and crotchety. There wasn’t any job they hadn’t done during their long lives, it seemed, including working as healers, and their cottage was filled to the brim with potions and herbs, glass bottles and mortars and pestles.
  8. mortar
    a vessel in which substances can be ground with a pestle
    Mae and Birdie were impossibly old and crotchety. There wasn’t any job they hadn’t done during their long lives, it seemed, including working as healers, and their cottage was filled to the brim with potions and herbs, glass bottles and mortars and pestles.
  9. pestle
    a hand tool for grinding and mixing substances in a mortar
    Mae and Birdie were impossibly old and crotchety. There wasn’t any job they hadn’t done during their long lives, it seemed, including working as healers, and their cottage was filled to the brim with potions and herbs, glass bottles and mortars and pestles.
  10. troupe
    an organization of performers and associated personnel
    But their favorite work by far had been acting in a traveling theater troupe. A day never went by without one of them breaking into song, reciting a sonnet, or dancing a jig. It was the price I had to pay, Birdie said, for living with two former thespians.
  11. sonnet
    a verse form of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme
    But their favorite work by far had been acting in a traveling theater troupe. A day never went by without one of them breaking into song, reciting a sonnet, or dancing a jig. It was the price I had to pay, Birdie said, for living with two former thespians.
  12. thespian
    a theatrical performer
    But their favorite work by far had been acting in a traveling theater troupe. A day never went by without one of them breaking into song, reciting a sonnet, or dancing a jig. It was the price I had to pay, Birdie said, for living with two former thespians.
  13. surly
    unfriendly and inclined toward anger or irritation
    Still, I tried hard not to let myself care for them too much. They made it easier than it might have been. They could be surly as...well, as screechers.
  14. squabble
    a quarrel about petty points
    But truth be told, Mae and Birdie didn’t seem to need protecting. They’d been together, they said, since before the dawn of time. And despite their occasional squabbles, it was clear as could be that they loved each other dearly.
  15. virtual
    being actually such in almost every respect
    It felt wrong somehow, being pleased by a gift from a virtual stranger. I didn’t like the feeling. It made me beholden. Needy.
  16. beholden
    under a moral obligation to someone
    It felt wrong somehow, being pleased by a gift from a virtual stranger. I didn’t like the feeling. It made me beholden. Needy.
  17. rouse
    cause to become awake or conscious
    Duuzuu, who’d finally roused himself, half hopped, half flew onto the table, eyeing the cake hopefully.
  18. fickle
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
    She gave a brief smile. Birdie’s smiles were often uncertain, more like fickle frowns.
  19. vial
    a small bottle that contains liquid medicine
    “I’ll just grab an empty vial. Could you manage some more?”
  20. notorious
    known widely and usually unfavorably
    “It sure doesn’t feel like a gift.” It was my turn to poke at the icing. “Why is everything so complicated?”
    “Because we are humans, and humans are notoriously difficult,” said Mae.
  21. morsel
    a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
    We finished every last morsel of cake. Duuzuu was so full, he promptly went back to sleep on my pillow, his belly swollen.
  22. reluctantly
    with a certain degree of unwillingness
    Mae ushered Connor inside, and I followed reluctantly.
  23. liniment
    a topical liquid that relieves muscle stiffness and pain
    “What else do you do, when you’re not making screechers?” asked Birdie, who was busy preparing a liniment rub for her rheumatism.
  24. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    “Mae,” Birdie chided. “You’re doing it again.”
    Mae pressed her palm to her chest, feigning offense. “Moi? Doing what?”
    “Poking and prodding where you’ve no business.”
  25. feign
    give a false appearance of
    “Mae,” Birdie chided. “You’re doing it again.”
    Mae pressed her palm to her chest, feigning offense. “Moi? Doing what?”
    “Poking and prodding where you’ve no business.”
  26. prod
    urge on; cause to act
    “Mae,” Birdie chided. “You’re doing it again.”
    Mae pressed her palm to her chest, feigning offense. “Moi? Doing what?”
    “Poking and prodding where you’ve no business.”
  27. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    “I suppose we don’t attend because we’re old.”
    “And tired,” Mae offered.
    Birdie nodded. “And lazy.”
    “Don’t forget cynical,” said Mae. “Also jaded.”
    “But you, Willodeen, are none of those things.”
  28. jaded
    bored or apathetic after experiencing too much of something
    “I suppose we don’t attend because we’re old.”
    “And tired,” Mae offered.
    Birdie nodded. “And lazy.”
    “Don’t forget cynical,” said Mae. “Also jaded.”
    “But you, Willodeen, are none of those things.”
  29. obsessed
    having excessive or compulsive concern with something
    “Of course, look at you.” His voice was gently teasing. “You’re obsessed with the most hideous beasts in the land, after all.”
  30. bluster
    vain and empty boasting
    At the front steps, Connor warned, “Prepare yourself.”
    “For what?”
    “Silly debates. Endless bluster. Arguments over nothing.”
Created on Tue Apr 19 17:22:34 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Apr 29 09:15:09 EDT 2022)

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