Vampires, Hearts and Other Dead Things: Chapters 6–10

by Margie Fuston
High school senior Victoria, accompanied by her next-door neighbor Henry Nakamura, travels to New Orleans to find a vampire who could help her immortalize her dying father.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–15, Chapters 16–26
40 words 8 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. novelty
    a small inexpensive mass-produced article
    The next day, we wander the French Quarter, peeking into every odd little novelty shop as our skin soaks up the humid air, turning our steps slow even though urgency gnaws at me.
  2. pretext
    a fictitious reason that conceals the real reason
    We play tourist under the pretext of looking for the vampire, but as other tourists laugh and smile and soak in the experience, I shut down and feel nothing.
  3. cynicism
    a pessimistic feeling of distrust
    “I don’t like it,” he says. “This guy told you he’s a vampire?” The cynicism in his voice is killing the rapid beating of my heart, drowning out the tiny trickle of hope sneaking through me.
  4. procure
    get by special effort
    I procured a fake ID from a shady dude I found on Craigslist for just this type of moment.
  5. suave
    having a sophisticated charm
    “You’re gonna have to sit this one out,” I tell Henry, who’s walking beside me, looking surprisingly suave in dark-wash jeans and a plain black T-shirt.
  6. plausible
    apparently reasonable, valid, or truthful
    I could call and explain, try to get him on board with my plan, but deep down I know what he’d say. So I won’t ask. I’ll pretend he might have said yes. Plausible deniability and all.
  7. writhing
    moving in a twisting or snake-like or wormlike fashion
    Lights pulse and flash from the ceiling, spotlighting one writhing body for a second before moving onto another.
  8. burly
    muscular and heavily built
    A velvet rope blocks the stairs along with a burly gentleman flaunting a receding hairline.
  9. begrudge
    allow unwillingly or reluctantly
    I hold out my white card with the address, grinning when he begrudgingly unlatches the rope and waves us through as I tuck the card back in my bag.
  10. sconce
    a decorative wall bracket for holding candles or lights
    Dim light comes from stained-glass wall sconces that cast dull patterns on the deep blue wall behind.
  11. strew
    spread by scattering
    Multiple people lounge on it and in the chairs artfully strewn around.
  12. monotonous
    tediously repetitious or lacking in variety
    I’ve surprised him, and most people love surprises. Vampires even more so. Eternity would get monotonous otherwise.
  13. throng
    a large gathering of people
    He walks around the table without letting go of me and leads me down the stairs and into the throng of bodies.
  14. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    Suddenly I’m the naive girl in every bad vampire movie—the girl Dad and I would yell at to get out of there before it’s too late, and then we’d laugh at her inevitable demise.
  15. disoriented
    having lost your bearings
    I don’t know when he called them over, but the next thing I know, one of the bouncers is guiding me to the door, and I’m out on the street, disoriented and alone.
  16. stiletto
    a shoe with a very thin, very high heel
    The girl with the long, gorgeous braids eases out of her chair and somehow glides toward me in her six-inch gold stilettos.
  17. venture
    proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
    We find the faded yellow bookstore with sea-green shutters down a quiet side street where nobody ventures at eight in the morning.
  18. staggering
    so surprisingly impressive as to stun or overwhelm
    I get the urge to stop right here and paint the staggering, colorful skyline of the city against the perfect blue sky.
  19. torrent
    a violently fast stream of water or other liquid
    Then—in my childhood—in the dawn
    Of a most stormy life—was drawn
    From ev’ry depth of good and ill
    The mystery which binds me still—
    From the torrent, or the fountain—
    From the red cliff of the mountain
  20. compel
    force somebody to do something
    Could she be compelled to not answer?
  21. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    A spray of delicious white dust billows off his pastry and into my face.
  22. roil
    be agitated
    I stand up straight again, nausea in check. Everything else inside me roils unchecked and dangerously close to bursting.
  23. surmise
    infer from incomplete evidence
    Since then ’tis centuries; but each
    Feels shorter than the day
    I first surmised the horses’ heads
    Were toward Eternity.
  24. entail
    impose, involve, or imply as a necessary result
    No matter what his trials entail, or how hard it is to complete them the way he wants, this will all be worth it.
  25. threshold
    the entrance for passing through a room or building
    You do know that it’s very bad luck
 to cross a threshold without being invited.
  26. haphazard
    marked by great carelessness
    Multiple stone birdbaths all in varying states of decay and rusted wrought-iron lawn furniture, none of which matches, cover the front lawn. Everything about it is haphazard and ancient and suggests someone inside is too.
  27. gangly
    tall, thin, and awkward
    Henry stops at another, smaller black gate, casually leans his arm over the top, and unlatches it from the other side. I guess it pays to have long, gangly arms.
  28. dilapidated
    in a state of decay, ruin, or deterioration
    The backyard mirrors the front but with dilapidated garden creatures and overgrown weeds.
  29. forge
    make something, usually for a specific function
    He takes a loud breath, and I know he’s pushing himself to do this for me, whether to make up for past regrets or to try to forge something new between us, I don’t know, but I reach out and place my hand on his back to let him know I’m behind him—I’ll back him up.
  30. mantel
    a shelf that projects from the wall above a fireplace
    The room off the back porch appears to be a grand seating area complete with a white mantel fireplace, white bookshelves, and gleaming oak floors.
  31. abstract
    existing only in the mind
    Someone lives here. I knew that already, in an abstract way, but seeing that ridiculous pig—the only thing in the house with personality—makes it real.
  32. sterile
    free of pathological microorganisms
    We climb a gleaming staircase and search several sterile guestrooms until we step into one with deep-green walls and an unmade bed.
  33. conscience
    motivation deriving from ethical or moral principles
    I tell myself anything is worth it, but I can’t shake the image of Dad telling me to do the right thing, hanging onto my shoulder like one of those creepy angel/conscience things in cartoons.
  34. gumbo
    a soup or stew thickened with okra pods
    After leaving our picture safely tucked in the book and our stolen items safely with Ruth under strict instructions that they get back to where they came from, Henry and I grab a bite of seafood gumbo at a place recommended by Ruth.
  35. livid
    pale or ashen, as from illness or emotion
    They mimic life, as if from Him to steal
    His glow of health to paint the livid cheek
  36. murky
    cloudy, dirty, and difficult to see through
    We head closer to the river, since pirate ships are surely rolling down it all the time, but find only the empty, murky water.
  37. kinship
    a close connection marked by common interests or character
    I lean against the railing, staring down at the steady flow of water—the way it constantly moves but never really changes. Vampires must feel a kinship with it.
  38. stealthy
    marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
    I slide up and rest my back against the side of the church like some kind of stealthy spy, except my breath wheezes in and out of me like I just ran five miles instead of a short sprint.
  39. accost
    approach and speak to someone aggressively or insistently
    “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with accosting some woman in an alleyway based on instructions we pulled out of a book. What if she has nothing to do with this?”
  40. drawl
    speak in a slow and drawn out way
    “Took you long enough,” she drawls, spinning around the lamppost to face us.
Created on Mon Oct 17 10:11:55 EDT 2022 (updated Fri Oct 06 13:04:55 EDT 2023)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.