Not Nothing: List 1

by Gayle Forman
Twelve-year-old Alex volunteers at a senior living facility and meets 107-year-old Josey, who tells Alex his story of surviving the Holocaust. From this, and with the help of a new friend, Maya-Jade, Alex begins to believe that he can "rise to the occasion" of his own life.

This list covers vocabulary from "Let Me Tell You A Story"–"Room 206."

Here are links to our lists for the book: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
15 words 121 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. antechamber
    an outer room or waiting area that leads into another room
    Places like Shady Glen are antechambers of death, the last stop where you wait for the Last Stop.
  2. balderdash
    trivial nonsense
    If you asked him, this was a bunch of balderdash.
  3. trivia
    miscellaneous facts about a range of subjects
    I didn’t go to many of the activities. Most required speaking. Or seeing. But similar to the boy, I liked trivia. I was 107 years old, and I remembered everything. Mostly this was a curse. But not in trivia. I was excellent at trivia. Even if I was the only one who knew it.
  4. enunciate
    speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way
    “Welcome,” Maya-Jade said, clapping her hands and enunciating slowly. “Today’s trivia topic is American presidents.”
  5. deteriorate
    become worse or disintegrate
    Voices deteriorate if you don’t use them. Everything does.
  6. perambulate
    walk with no particular goal
    The halls — usually full of residents slowly perambulating from one area to the other or just sitting around chatting — were completely empty.
  7. violation
    an act that disregards an agreement or a right
    “Is that too young, Leyla?” Julio asked.
    “Probably, but I’d rather risk a code violation than let the residents go hungry,” Leyla replied.
  8. uninitiated
    lacking relevant knowledge or experience
    It’s not a sight for the uninitiated.
  9. convalesce
    get over an illness or shock
    Ginny Koong’s room was empty because she was downstairs with Dickie in his room, the two of them now recovered enough to convalesce together.
  10. decrepitude
    a state of deterioration due to old age or long use
    He was in such a hurry to get away from my decrepitude that after he dropped the box, he spun on his heel and tripped on the bed frame, grabbing the nearest thing he could find to steady himself.
  11. extol
    praise, glorify, or honor
    She had been hearing it for much of her life, starting after her mother died and she went to live with her mother’s brother, who said it was impossible for her to continue her schooling, even though she had been such an excellent student in primary school that the teachers pulled her aside at the end of each year to extol her intellect and curiosity.
  12. coffer
    the funds of a government, institution, or individual
    But intellect and curiosity did not pay for bread or coal, her uncle said, and just because his sister was dead shouldn’t mean he had to feed another mouth. Olka had to contribute to the family’s coffers.
  13. intervene
    get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action
    Only after the matron insisted that Olka must go to school because it was already arranged, and after the aunt intervened, saying she would lose the matron’s and all her wealthy friends’ business if Olka refused the offer, did the uncle relent.
  14. counterfeit
    not genuine; imitating something superior
    Any time a person had a gripe with the way my father conducted business — the furrier whose counterfeit mink coats my father refused to carry, a customer who tried to return a clearly worn dress from two seasons earlier — the name would get hurled out.
  15. bigot
    a prejudiced person who is intolerant of differing opinions
    She was a liar and a bigot. I had been right all along.
Created on Wed Aug 20 19:33:38 EDT 2025 (updated Fri Sep 19 11:03:05 EDT 2025)

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