Some people think that young adult books are fluffy novels about teen crushes and first kisses. Wrong. Young adult novels deal with tough issues, everything from eating disorders and suicide to, as in the case of my latest read, grief and divorce. They also can teach vocabulary.
Emery Lord, author of The Start of Me and You, taught me two new words last week: solipsism and pulchritude. Let me share what I’ve learned.
In The Start of Me and You, main character Paige is complaining about how her divorced parents have started dating.
“Sorry,” I said, giving a little laugh. “I didn’t mean for that to sound so solipsistic.”
Solipsistic /sō-ləp-ˈsi-stik/ from Latin solus (alone) + ipse (self):
of, relating to, or characterized by solipsism or extreme egocentricity
Here’s another Word Nerd Word. (Paige is a bit of a nerd; she’s on the school Quiz Bowl team for Pete’s sake. All cool nerds are. 😉 )
Max, another main character, says,
“I mean, I do think she’s beautiful and interesting… but that’s just, you know pulchritude and conversation.”
Pulchritude /ˈpəl-krə-ˌtüd/ from Latin pulcher (beauty)
physical comeliness
Thank you, Merriam Webster.
If you love words, join in the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme at Bermuda Onion. Every week, bloggers share new words they’ve learned or fun words they love.
Word Nerd Workout
Can you use either one of these words in a sentence? Here’s mine:
I grow weary of our President’s solipsistic comments on Twitter.
Your turn!
Thanks for getting nerdy with me today!
Wow, those teens’ vocabularies are better than mine! As another commenter said, “pulchitrude” sounds like it would mean something negative.
I can’t come up with a better sentence than yours, Julia. 🙂
My my, this is some impressive teen vocabulary! Sounds like the conversations in my house (um. no.) I’ve long contemplated the idea of posting words on the walls of my home b/c I can never remember how to even pronounce them after reading them. It’s all habit and use, right? Based on the vocabulary alone, book sounds intriguing…
The book is okay. An editor suggested I read it after she read my first three chapters of my WIP. It had a lot of striking similarities… a good learning book for me.
I’m in agreement with you on Young Adult novels. Thanks to my eldest granddaughter, I’ve read a ton of them. Fortunately, they’ve all been excellent novels, thanks to some very smart young writers.
Thanks for solipsistic. I like how it was used in that quote.
Your sentence with solipsistic is spot on! Pulchritude sounds like the opposite of its meaning to me.
I thought the same thing, Kathy! Pulchritude sounds like something ugly.
I remember learning the word pulchritude in grade 10 Latin class. I remember clearly that the vp paid a visit to our classroom and, knowing that we would have learned the word, commented on the abundance of ‘feminine pulchritude’ in the room. He meant well and those were different times.
Great example, Debbie! Thanks.