Orphan Train Girl: Chapters 13–22

by Christina Baker Kline
A sixth-grader and an elderly woman discover they have something in common — years of moving from one foster family to another.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–12, Chapters 13–22
35 words 20 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. obnoxious
    causing disapproval or protest
    Working in the attic with Vivian after school helps Molly wipe the memory of Tyler and his obnoxious comments out of her mind.
  2. thatch
    cover with roofing material made of plant stalks
    Gram’s house in the distance with its thatched roof and whitewashed walls, pots of red geraniums blooming on the windowsill.
  3. currant
    a small seedless raisin used in cooking and baking
    Then the two of them went to sit in the front room, “the good room,” Gram called it, for afternoon tea, strong and with plenty of sugar, and currant bread, sliced and warm.
  4. tarnish
    make or become dirty or dull, as by exposure to air
    “Looks like silver,” Mr. Grote said. “Tarnished.”
  5. stifle
    smother or suppress
    Though she knew it wasn’t his fault, she had to stifle a sudden urge to dump the boy off her lap.
  6. lye
    a strong solution of sodium or potassium hydroxide
    Everything in this house would have to be cleaned with lye soap and drenched with boiling water—the bedsheets, the mattresses.
  7. vagrant
    a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
    “I told Gerald it was too much, having a vagrant in this house when Lord knows where she’s been. Irish bogtrotter. I told you!”
  8. flimsy
    lacking solidity or strength
    The bread is flimsy and tasteless; she must’ve spread the peanut butter too thick.
  9. troglodyte
    a primitive person who lived in a cave
    “You look upset. I thought maybe Tyler said something again. What a troglodyte, huh?”
  10. plod
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    Then she turned left and plodded up the rutted dirt road to the falling-down bridge.
  11. kindling
    material for starting a fire
    When she was settled and comfortable, he gathered wood and kindling for the fire.
  12. squall
    a loud and harsh cry
    Mrs. Grote lying in bed all day, Mr. Grote in the woods, the moldy old mattresses and holes in the floor, the children squalling with hunger.
  13. primer
    an introductory textbook
    In a kind of daze Dorothy copied what Lucy did—getting out her spelling primer, opening to the right page, lining up behind her to write on the board.
  14. sanctuary
    a consecrated place where sacred objects are kept
    Every Easter when Molly was little, she went to St. Anne’s Church with her parents. There was a big table in front of the sanctuary, covered with crocuses in little pots wrapped in silver foil.
  15. flourish
    grow vigorously
    Molly thinks of Mary Lennox and her friend Dickon, shut inside the walled and secret garden, weeding and digging, giving the neglected flowers a chance to flourish.
  16. yew
    evergreen tree or shrub having red cup-shaped berries
    Okay, it’s just Ralph and Dina’s yard, which is small and only has two flower beds and some discouraged-looking yew bushes.
  17. trundle
    move along on or as if on wheels or a wheeled vehicle
    Dina comes out of the garage, trundling a wheelbarrow in front of her.
  18. excitable
    responding quickly with strong emotion or agitation
    “A ten-year-old girl. Don’t you find, Miss Larsen, that there can be a certain excitability? A tendency to exaggerate, perhaps?”
  19. frank
    characterized by directness in manner or speech
    “Surely you don’t expect Dorothy to return to that situation. Frankly, I wonder why you don’t ask the police to go out there and take a look. It doesn’t sound like a healthy place for the other children, either.”
  20. predicament
    an unpleasant or difficult situation
    “I told her about your—predicament. I hope that’s all right. I felt she needed to understand why I brought you here.”
  21. boarder
    a tenant in someone’s house who typically receives meals
    Dinner, which Dorothy and Miss Larsen ate with Mrs. Murphy and the other four boarders, was at six o’clock.
  22. bounty
    the property of being richly abundant or plentiful
    There was a bounty of food: a ham in the middle of the table, roasted potatoes, Brussels sprouts glistening with butter, a basket of rolls.
  23. tinker
    try to fix or mend in an unskilled manner
    Ralph has retreated to the garage and is tinkering with the car.
  24. sober
    dignified and serious in manner or character
    “I told Mrs. Nielsen about you, Niamh. I said that you are a sober-minded girl, ten years old, and mature for your age. I have no doubt you can be of use to her. And so they have agreed to meet with you.”
  25. persistent
    never-ceasing
    The rain is the kind of persistent downpour that finds every weak point in your jacket, drips down your neck, soaks your jeans from the hems up.
  26. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    She’s tempted to slink over to the computers and wait her turn.
  27. tenement
    a run-down apartment house barely meeting minimal standards
    On a site about tenement life in New York City, there’s a picture of an old newspaper with an article about a fire.
  28. frantic
    marked by uncontrolled excitement or emotion
    Molly types frantically.
  29. incense
    a substance that produces a fragrant odor when burned
    The smell of incense and lilies.
  30. demonstrative
    given to or marked by the open expression of emotion
    Quiet people, yes. Never very...demonstrative, do you know what that means? They didn’t show much of what they felt. But they were decent and kind, in their own way.
  31. align
    arrange so as to be parallel or straight
    Molly stacks the pages of her report in the middle of her desk, making sure all the edges are perfectly aligned. She puts a staple neatly through the upper left-hand corner.
  32. marginal
    just barely adequate or within a lower limit
    “You’ll look like a hippie,” Dina says with a grin, turning to leave. “But I guess that’s better than looking like a vampire.”
    “Is it?”
    “Marginally. Why don’t you put it on and see if it fits?”
  33. delinquent
    a young offender
    Can your mom stop thinking I’m some kind of juvenile delinquent?
  34. archive
    a depository containing historical records and documents
    There are books and newspaper articles, plays and events. There’s a website where riders can tell their stories and post photographs, as well as links to historical records and archives.
  35. scornful
    expressing extreme contempt
    “Netflix!” Ralph says scornfully. “Don’t be so boring. We should see something on a big screen.”
Created on Wed Aug 11 10:17:40 EDT 2021 (updated Fri Aug 13 08:50:44 EDT 2021)

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