Coop Knows the Scoop: Chapters 7–13

by Taryn Souders
In a small Georgia town, thirteen-year-old Cooper Goodman tries to clear his family's name by solving the mystery behind a skeleton discovered in a playground.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–13, Chapters 14–20, Chapters 21–28, Chapters 29–38
40 words 5 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. stricken
    affected by something overwhelming
    Miss Ruth looked stricken. “It couldn’t be Tabby.”
  2. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    “See?” Miss Meriwether squared her shoulders smugly.
  3. fluent
    expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively
    Liberty was fluent in two languages: Cussing and Sarcasm.
  4. establish
    show the validity of something, as by example or explanation
    “Do you know who Tabby’s dentist was?” He avoided Mama’s eyes. “For her old dental records. To establish an ID.”
  5. forensic
    used in the investigation of facts or evidence in court
    Let me get one of my CSIs down here. We can swab the inside of your mouth and get it to a lab. A cousin of mine teaches at the forensic college in Atlanta.
  6. compassion
    a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering
    Mrs. Alcott ran the Compassion League, a club of church ladies who cooked food for people when an emergency or illness interrupted normal comings and goings.
  7. tousle
    disarrange or rumple; dishevel
    He tousled my hair.
  8. pester
    annoy persistently
    We had a dishwasher, but whenever Mama had something pestering her, she’d do dishes by hand.
  9. absentminded
    lost in thought; showing preoccupation
    She absentmindedly rubbed her ring finger. If there weren’t dishes to wash to keep worrisome thoughts away, she’d start fiddling with imaginary jewelry that hadn’t been on her finger for a couple years.
  10. placate
    cause to be more favorably inclined
    Tick was a lousy gin rummy player—Texas Hold’em was more up his alley—so I’d no doubt he suggested the game to placate me.
  11. rummage
    search haphazardly
    I rummaged through the side-table drawer for cards.
  12. cranny
    a small opening or crevice
    The attic sat at the top of a narrow and dimly lit staircase. I’d never explored all its nooks and crannies—just helped Gramps bring down decorations for Thanksgiving and Christmas and such—so I couldn’t wait to see what cool stuff was hidden there.
  13. hodgepodge
    a motley assortment of things
    We started to make our way to a hodgepodge of stacked boxes, old luggage, and trunks.
  14. musty
    stale and unclean smelling
    A musty smell hit me in the face as I unzipped the bag and pulled the items out one by one. Nothing but shoes and a couple old scarves.
  15. tarmac
    a paved road or surface, especially at an airport
    They stood on a tarmac, smiling. It must’ve been taken back in the day when you walked outside to get on a plane.
  16. obsession
    an unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something
    “Looked like she stepped from the pages of a fashion magazine. Always wore hats outside too. Never did understand women’s obsession with hats,” he said under his breath.
  17. inscribe
    carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface
    The buttons are the giveaway—they’re a Giovanni Rue trademark. Each dress design had its own special style of buttons, and they were always inscribed with his initials.
  18. authentic
    not counterfeit or copied
    “The label was all the rage, particularly for high-society women. People paid over a thousand dollars back then, and nowadays an authentic Giovanni Rue dress will cost you a month’s salary.”
  19. scrawl
    write carelessly
    It wasn’t a big box, but it was heavy. Steven’s Books was scrawled across the top.
  20. prattle
    speak about unimportant matters rapidly and incessantly
    “Oh, Harley. I’m so sorry. Here I am prattling on about fashion and—and, you’re...”
  21. furrow
    make or become wrinkled or creased
    Tick’s brow furrowed. “We didn’t find a necklace.”
  22. sentimental
    marked by tender, romantic, or nostalgic emotion
    “Hmm. It’s not very sentimental, is it?”
    “I’ve read medical lab reports with more emotion,” said Gramps, with a cough.
  23. prone
    having a tendency
    Mama was prone to worry, and if she saw my list she might think I was anxious about Tabby’s murder.
  24. consensus
    agreement in the judgment reached by a group as a whole
    It took the fire department two hours to corner and remove Silas’s goat, Jeffrey, from Miss Grupe’s roof. Some of her shingles still hung catawampus. But the general consensus afterward was that a Windy Bottom goat would do just fine on a mountain.
  25. substantiate
    establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
    It was even rumored that he’d had a bump with the law sometime in the past month. We couldn’t call it an actual run-in, because the report had yet to be substantiated by the Feather sisters.
  26. contract
    be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness
    According to the Feather sisters, Angus’s wife, Cordelia, contracted a rare form of leukemia and died shortly after Beau was born.
  27. gouge
    an impression in a surface, as made by a blow
    The gray linoleum floor was as ugly as ever. But I loved it, because Gramps had gone to school here and so had Dad. Their memories lived in those scuffs, scrapes, and gouges on the floor.
  28. defunct
    no longer in force or use; inactive
    Gramps always said to focus on the positive in people and nobody’s perfect, but that was hard when dealing with Marla-Laine. She had about as much positivity as a defunct battery.
  29. lackadaisical
    idle or indolent especially in a dreamy way
    “My alarm clock tends to get on the lackadaisical side during summer.”
  30. shortcoming
    a failing or deficiency
    We’d all had Miss Grupe in sixth grade, so she was already familiar with our shortcomings.
  31. akin
    similar in quality or character
    To say that the relationship between school and Justice was precarious was akin to saying the Titanic hit an ice cube.
  32. maroon
    of dark brownish to purplish red
    She paused, a maroon box of tissues in hand.
    “With the reds or the purples?”
  33. prominent
    conspicuous in position or importance
    The Willises were the most prominent family in Windy Bottom, proven by the fact Willis Street was named after them.
  34. steep
    devote fully to
    The Generational Tea was a Windy Bottom event steeped in tradition—sort of like the Cow Patty Bingo Plop, but supposedly more refined.
  35. glower
    look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval
    “Scared of you? Not likely.”
    We stood inches apart, glowering.
  36. satiate
    fill to satisfaction
    “It satiated the Feather sisters’ need for gossip for quite a while.”
  37. charlatan
    a flamboyant deceiver
    Rumor had it Mr. Willis refused to help ‘the charlatan’—that’s what he called him.
  38. exhume
    dig up for reburial or for medical investigation
    But when they exhumed old Mr. D’s body, the family noticed the gold ring he was supposed to have been buried with was missing!
  39. mortuary
    a building where bodies are kept before burial or cremation
    When questioned about it, Earl babbled on about how he’d thought the ring was on Mr. D’s pudgy finger when the coffin closed, but after the burial he noticed it still sitting on the mortuary counter.
  40. brooch
    a decorative pin
    “The point is her diamond brooch disappeared hours before her service. Her relatives called the police.”
Created on Sun Oct 23 21:00:00 EDT 2022 (updated Sun Sep 10 14:21:52 EDT 2023)

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