Tears of a Tiger: Chapters 1–14

by Sharon M. Draper
In the first book of the Hazelwood High trilogy, basketball player Andy Jackson deals with the aftermath of the car accident that killed his best friend.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–14, Chapters 15–27, Chapters 28–45

Here are links to lists for other works by Sharon M. Draper: Forged by Fire, Out of My Mind, Copper Sun, Stella by Starlight, Blended
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. frantically
    in an uncontrolled manner
    Although Jackson tried frantically to rescue Washington, he and his friends watched helplessly as Robert Washington burned to death.
  2. honorable
    deserving of esteem and respect
    Hey, jumpin’ with Keisha is like touchin’ the sky. I’d say I had an honorable excuse, my man.
  3. strict
    incapable of compromise or flexibility
    His stepfather beats...uh, I mean, his old man is real strict.
  4. vice
    a specific form of evildoing
    I told them that drinking at an early age had stunted my growth, so I had given it up in favor of other vices.
  5. outrageous
    greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation
    They're all tall, popular with the girls, and basically outrageous.
  6. grief
    intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one
    A memorial service was held here at school last week where students, teammates, and staff expressed their grief.
  7. fortunate
    supremely favored
    The period from the Thanksgiving holidays through the Christmas season is traditionally a time when we become aware of those who are less fortunate.
  8. dialect
    the usage or vocabulary characteristic of a group of people
    They visited Madame Loisel’s advanced French classes and amazed the students with their vast knowledge of not only French, but also English, Swahili, and several African dialects.
  9. unruly
    noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline
    Vice Principal Leo Davis has said that all incidents of disorderly conduct and unruly behavior must be eliminated in order to insure the safety of all concerned.
  10. statistic
    a datum that can be represented numerically
    Usually, statistics don’t mean much, but this statistic had a name, a face, a basketball jersey, and friends.
  11. fatality
    a death resulting from an accident or a disaster
    Alcohol-related fatalities are the number one cause of death in teenagers.
  12. accustom
    familiarize psychologically or physically
    We are accustomed to whining about how small our allowances are, or how upset we are because we only have three pairs of athletic shoes, when there are so many around us who have no money, no homes, and no shoes at all.
  13. forfeit
    lose the right to or lose by some error, offense, or crime
    The team decided to forfeit the next two games and to dedicate the rest of the season to Rob and to try to win the title as a tribute to him.
  14. tribute
    something given or done as an expression of esteem
    The team decided to forfeit the next two games and to dedicate the rest of the season to Rob and to try to win the title as a tribute to him.
  15. detest
    dislike intensely
    He sponsors two S.A.D.D. groups—Students Against Driving Drunk and Student Athletes Detest Drugs.
  16. miscellaneous
    consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
    Well, except for the miscellaneous Band-Aids, I’d say you look pretty good, considering.
  17. recuperate
    get over an illness or shock
    Have you recuperated from that court ordeal yet?
  18. homicide
    the killing of a human being by another human being
    I had been charged with DWI and vehicular homicide, but they dropped the vehicular homicide charge because of my age and good-driving record.
  19. revoke
    cancel officially
    I ended up gettin’ my license revoked until I’m twenty-one, and a two-year suspended sentence.
  20. devastate
    overwhelm or overpower
    The Tigers really want to win this one because this is their first home game since that devastating loss of their popular and capable center, Robbie Washington.
  21. frenzied
    affected with or marked by mania uncontrolled by reason
    The ball is passed now to Mills, to Shuttlesworth, and to Jackson who seems almost frenzied out there.
  22. psychic
    a person sensitive to things beyond natural perception
    Didn’t you know I was a psychic with X-ray vision?
  23. composition
    the act of creating written works
    I worried about my math grades, and I always had trouble in English composition classes.
  24. dispense
    administer or bestow, as in small portions
    They can dispense medication, and I don’t.
  25. convert
    cause to agree or realize the truth or validity of something
    She says that her skin is not black and never will be and that she doesn’t know anyone from Africa; why should she change what has worked perfectly well all of her life? I’ve given up tryin’ to convert her.
  26. sorority
    a social club for female undergraduates
    She’s active in her sorority activities, which to me seems kinda stupid.
  27. cotillion
    a ball at which young ladies are presented to society
    Anyway, they plan meaningless activities like cotillions for girls like Rhonda and Keisha.
  28. escort
    a participant in a date
    She once asked me if I would like to be an escort for one of the girls.
  29. rebellious
    resisting control or authority
    He’s still cute and charmin’ and hasn’t started to get rebellious or misunderstood yet.
  30. righteous
    characterized by accepted standards of morality or justice
    All I ask for is a little of your time, and you want to get all righteous on me.
  31. tantrum
    a display of bad temper
    I don’t have time to deal with your temper tantrums.
  32. counselor
    someone who gives advice about problems
    I don’t know what it was like back then, but all my counselor be doin’ is makin’ up schedules and callin’ people out of class, as far as I can tell.
  33. preach
    deliver a sermon
    He lectures, he preaches, he yells.
  34. potential
    the inherent capacity for coming into being
    She said someone with my athletic potential shouldn’t be tryin’ to make his college career too complicated.
  35. enhance
    make better or more attractive
    Then they say stuff to me like, “That’s good, Andy, but couldn’t you have improved this part or enhanced this section?”
Created on Wed Mar 18 19:01:01 EDT 2015 (updated Tue May 03 09:33:22 EDT 2022)

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