This section presents terms and phrases that are central to understanding the text and may present a challenge to the reader. Use this list to create a vocabulary quiz or worksheet, to prepare flashcards for a standardized test, or to inspire classroom word games and other group activities.

1. apprised (past participle):

informed or told

“He kept the others apprised on the petition for another investigation and how the statement of apology from the government was coming along.” (Prologue, Page 6)

2. threadbare (adjective):

thin and tattered (of fabric)

“‘I’ll get in free every day for a month, easy,’ he told his grandmother, lying on the front room rug and tracing a threadbare patch with his thumb.” (Chapter 1, Page 12)

3. meticulous (adjective):

showing great attention to detail

“He was meticulous about his black serving uniform, and maintained that he was always the best-dressed man in the dining room, putting the white patrons to shame.” (Chapter 1, Page 15)

4. slink (verb):

move smoothly and quietly

“‘Jim Crow ain’t going to just slink off,’ she said.” (Chapter 2, Page 18)

5. genteel (adjective):

refined or respectable, often in a showy manner

“He didn’t need an employee, but his wife liked telling people that he had an employee, and he imagined it made the store more approachable to a genteel segment of black Frenchtown.” (Chapter 2, Page 20)

6. escapade (noun):

an activity or incident involving excitement or daring

“His heart sped: this escapade. Why hadn’t anyone told them to do this before?” (Chapter 3, Page 29)

7. feral (adjective):

resembling a wild animal

“Those who’d taught his parents years ago had a hard time squaring him—he may have carried his father’s name but there was nothing in the boy of Percy’s feral charm, or of Evelyn’s unnerving gloom.” (Chapter 3, Page 31)

8. pseudonym (noun):

a fictitious name, usually used by an author

“Bashful, he didn’t tell anyone and wrote under a pseudonym.” (Chapter 3, Page 37)

9. recalcitrant (adjective):

stubbornly uncooperative, particularly toward authority

“The first time was for being recalcitrant; he was back for truancy.” (Chapter 4, Page 46)

10. deliberate (adjective):

done intentionally and consciously

“A real ‘crack of dawner,’ as Harriet used to say, who moved with a deliberate air, as if he rehearsed everything in front of a mirror.” (Chapter 4, Page 48)

11. mirthful (adjective):

merry or amusing

“Elwood’s arrived first, a chubby, white-haired man with dark skin and gray, mirthful eyes.” (Chapter 4, Page 50)

12. impeccably (adverb):

perfectly; in accordance with the highest standards

“He laced his brown shoes, which were impeccably polished.” (Chapter 5, Page 56)

13. comportment (noun):

behavior, especially good behavior

“Work, comportment, demonstrations of compliance or docility, however—these things counted toward your ranking and were never far from Desmond’s attention.” (Chapter 5, Page 58)

14. incantation (noun):

words spoken as part of a charm or magic spell

“In the car over, Corey made an incantation, ‘I’m-a hold on and be still, I’m-a hold on and be still,’ so maybe it was true.” (Chapter 6, Page 67)

15. instigator (noun):

one who initiates something, particularly an incident

“Unless there was a higher system to how many each boy got: repeat offender, instigator, bystander.” (Chapter 6, Page 68)

16. bumptious (adjective):

self-assertive or proud

“Her father died in jail after a white lady downtown accused him of not getting out of her way on the sidewalk. Bumptious contact, as Jim Crow defined it.” (Chapter 7, Page 70)

17. exuberant (adjective):

full of lively excitement and energy

“They were big books with exuberant pictures, red and orange, in contrast with the cloudy, white-gone-gray of the ward.” (Chapter 7, Page 77)

18. girding (noun; gerund):

preparing oneself for something difficult

“Everyone had moved on to girding themselves for the next Nickel mishap, the one that was out of their hands.” (Chapter 8, Page 86)

19. palimpsest (noun):

material on which traces remain of original writing that has been effaced to make room for new writing

“When they finished, the owner emerged—a porky redneck whose apron was a palimpsest of dark stains—and clapped Harper on the back.” (Chapter 8, Page 89)

20. undulating (participial adjective):

having a smoothly rising and falling shape, like waves

“They pulled up to a big white house that floated on a sea of undulating green.” (Chapter 8, Page 91)

21. mollifying (participial adjective):

soothing anger or anxiety

“The combat served as a kind of mollifying spell, to tide them through the daily humiliations.” (Chapter 9, Page 99)

22. euphemism (noun):

mild or indirect word substituted for a harsh or embarrassing word or concept

“He tried euphemism: It’s like when a tree branch has to bend so it doesn’t break.” (Chapter 9, Page 102)

23. quarry (noun):

one that is pursued; prey

“At the bell, Griff barreled out and humiliated his quarry with a battery of zip-zip-zip body blows.” (Chapter 9, Page 108)

24. miscreants (plural noun):

people who behave badly

“Miscreants had bashed in the reindeers’ heads.” (Chapter 10, Page 115)

25. fraternization (noun):

the action of meeting someone socially, especially between individuals of opposing teams or armies

“Fraternization between the students of the two campuses was discouraged.” (Chapter 10, Page 119)

26. vestibule (noun):

hall or lobby in a building, connected to a door to the outside

“This time whenever he left the vestibule downstairs, the stench was a thicket—he wanted a machete to hack through it.” (Chapter 11, Page 135)

27. opined (past tense verb):

stated or held one’s opinion

“He opined that maybe it was a dog, but she wasn’t going back today and he was glad to have her.” (Chapter 11, Page 139)

28. capricious (adjective):

likely to undergo or enact sudden and unwarranted changes in mood and behavior

“Still, the law was corrupt and capricious in various measure and sometimes a boy strolled out through what passed for divine intervention.” (Chapter 12, Page 145)

29. gait (noun):

manner in which a person walks

“Freddie Rich identified candidates by their gait and posture, administration files strengthened the argument, and their treatment by the other boys provided final confirmation.” (Chapter 12, Page 147)

30. adjacent (adjective):

directly next to something else

“Depending on the breeze the air smelled of Sabrett hotdog carts or the hairy armpit of that tank-topped chick adjacent.” (Chapter 13, Page 160)

31. gregariousness (noun):

sociability; fondness of company

“Here he was, slapping him five, grabbing his shoulder, and talking too loud in a performance of gregariousness.” (Chapter 13, Page 162)