The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl: Chapters 28–40

by Stacy McAnulty
After she was struck by lightning at the age of eight, Lucy became a mathematical prodigy and developed obsessive compulsive disorder. Now, Lucy prefers to stay at home and solve equations, but her grandmother insists that Lucy tackle the most complex problem she's ever faced: middle school.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–10, Chapters 11–20, Chapters 21–27, Chapters 28–40
30 words 107 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. tumor
    an abnormal new mass of tissue that serves no purpose
    “Cutie Pi has cancer. He has a tumor at the base of his brain. You may have noticed that he tilts his head a lot.”
  2. inquisitive
    showing curiosity
    I thought he was inquisitive.
  3. terminal
    causing or ending in or approaching death
    “He’s not available for adoption. We cannot ask a family to pay $175 for a terminal dog. There are too many—”
  4. kibble
    pellets of coarsely ground grain used as animal feed
    He was abandoned at the Pet Hut shelter on September 18. He eats 2.5 cups of kibble per day.
  5. stump
    cause to be perplexed or confounded
    “She pays attention, and when she has the courage to ask questions, they’re deep, thoughtful questions. More than once, she has stumped me. Sent me scrambling back to my college textbooks.”
  6. stance
    a rationalized mental attitude
    Maybe Ms. Fleming cornered him in the teachers’ lounge and told him about Windy and Levi’s stance after I refused to read aloud.
  7. competence
    the quality of being adequately or well qualified
    “It’s more a test of my teaching skills than a test of your competence.”
  8. inscribe
    draw within a figure to touch in as many places as possible
    The octagon P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 is inscribed in a circle, with the vertices around the circumference in the given order.
  9. vertex
    the point of intersection of lines
    The octagon P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 is inscribed in a circle, with the vertices around the circumference in the given order.
  10. polygon
    a closed plane figure bounded by straight sides
    Given that the polygon P1 P3 P5 P7 is a square of area 5, and the polygon P2 P4 P6 P8 is a rectangle of area 4, find the maximum possible area of the octagon.
  11. theorem
    a proposition deducible from basic postulates
    “The Pythagorean theorem has been on the wall since the 1st day of school. You know how to calculate area. You know an octagon has 8 sides. You know the angles—”
  12. collegiate
    of or resembling or typical of a university
    “I haven’t solved it myself yet. It’s from an old Putnam Competition. That’s the major collegiate mathematics contest.”
  13. dread
    be afraid or scared of
    She’s so happy; I feel guilty for dreading every minute of this.
  14. suite
    lodging consisting of a series of connected rooms
    The room—a suite—is huge. It’s bigger than the apartment I live in.
  15. swivel
    a device that allows an object to spin or pivot
    I want 1 of the cool bunk beds. They look like canoes, and each has a TV mounted on a swivel arm.
  16. prompt
    assist by suggesting the next words of something
    “Thank you. I had fun.” I was going to say thank you before she prompted me, even though I hated almost every minute of the party.
  17. sanctuary
    a shelter from danger or hardship
    So I spend my time looking for last-resort dog sanctuaries. There’s a ranch in Tennessee called Sweet Dreams Farm that takes in sick and unadoptable animals.
  18. appropriate
    suitable for a particular person, place, or situation
    “That’s not appropriate,” Mr. Stoker warns. “Keep those opinions to yourself.”
  19. confront
    deal with head on
    This should feel like a victory. I’ve confronted the enemy.
  20. blare
    make a loud noise
    I turn right and jog across the 4 lanes of Route 68. Cars blare their horns.
  21. pedestrian
    a person who travels by foot
    This area of town isn’t meant for pedestrians.
  22. tread
    stomp heavily or roughly
    I tread through knee-high weeds, stepping over bottles and other garbage, heading to the Pet Hut.
  23. rig
    a truck consisting of a tractor and trailer together
    The world fades until a big rig whips by me.
  24. merchandise
    commodities offered for sale
    All the kennels are full of barking, snarling dogs. Pi isn’t in 1. He’s the broken merchandise that’s kept hidden in the back until it’s time to throw it away.
  25. comeback
    a quick reply to a question or remark
    She doesn’t say anything else about Windy, but I’m ready with comebacks if she does.
  26. scramble
    move hurriedly
    Windy jerks back, and her mouth falls open. Pi scrambles between us.
  27. barrack
    a building or group of buildings to house military personnel
    “All my friends live in barracks. Not ideal for a pet.”
  28. ideal
    conforming to an ultimate standard of perfection
    “All my friends live in barracks. Not ideal for a pet.”
  29. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    He doesn’t look comfortable, awkwardly sprawled across my lap and chair.
  30. hacker
    a programmer who breaks into computer systems
    Finally, after Thanksgiving, the talk slowed and then stopped. It helped that some students hacked into the school’s computer system. They weren’t trying to change grades or cheat. They sent prank emails from Dr. Cobb that said things like East Hamlin was closed due to a smallpox outbreak. It was a big whodunit mystery for a whole week. An acquired savant can’t compete with hackers.
Created on Thu Aug 22 10:47:39 EDT 2019 (updated Wed Sep 04 16:09:34 EDT 2019)

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