A World Worth Saving: Chapters 9–15

by Kyle Lukoff
In this novel, a transgender Jewish teenager who is navigating his parents' rejection of his gender meets a golem who asks him to help save the world.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1-8, Chapters 9-15,
Chapters 16-23, Chapters 24-32, Chapter 33-Epilogue
15 words 22 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. intensive
    characterized by a heightened level or degree
    “After your little outburst, you’ve shown that you need to move on to more intensive treatment.”
  2. golem
    an artificial human that is given life by supernatural means
    It was the headband, from the golem’s trash form. Somehow it had skittered across the floor, landing in front of me.
  3. intractable
    difficult to manage or mold
    The intractable pulling sensation paused.
  4. strident
    being sharply insistent on being heard
    “You were brainwashed,” Joanna argued, but she didn’t sound like the strident, confident woman telling my parents this at our first SOSAD meeting.
  5. guttural
    relating to or articulated in the throat
    Shadows swarmed around her, and her next words were a guttural growl.
  6. abate
    become less in amount or intensity
    From there we followed it around several corners to a park, the lot half-full with cars and some sports game happening in an adjacent field, now that the rain had abated.
  7. linchpin
    a central cohesive source of support and stability
    “Whoever saves a single life, saves the world entire. Toward your purposes, the one who is called Yarrow may serve as the linchpin for—”
    “You know, I had a whole plan for this,” Sal cut in, before the golem could finish.
  8. alacrity
    liveliness and eagerness
    “You have passed your first trial, A, and with alacrity. Our task now is to—”
  9. demise
    the event of departure from life
    That woman, what inhabited her, has sent many a soul to meet its demise.
  10. tautological
    characterized by unnecessary repetition
    “We must find the path as it reveals itself to us.”
    Sal huffed. “Seems tautological, but okay.” That was one of those words she loved to throw around.
  11. engrossed
    giving or marked by complete attention to
    Sal gaped at Razor, who was engrossed in packing a tote full of bananas and apples.
  12. motley
    consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
    “So who’s this ‘us’?” I asked.
    I imagined a motley, ragtag group of people...
  13. muster
    summon up, call forth, or bring together
    I tried to muster up some defense to this, but they were probably right.
  14. sotto voce
    in an undertone
    “Good morning, sunshine,” Dante said sotto voce as I sat up.
  15. foment
    try to stir up
    “Malice attracts them. They feed off hatred, and in feeding, make it stronger. While such creatures do not create hatred in human hearts, they foment it from inclination to action.”
Created on Wed Oct 01 07:23:26 EDT 2025 (updated Wed Nov 12 11:24:49 EST 2025)

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