I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980: Chapters 8–16

by Lauren Tarshis
In this fourteenth book of the historical fiction I Survived series, eleven-year-old Jessie Marlowe and her best friends go into a Washington forest to look for proof of a legendary Skeleton Woman and end up shaken.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–16
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. stench
    a distinctive odor that is offensively unpleasant
    That gas builds up as a volcano is becoming more active, and it can leak out of the Earth. It has a horrific smell, like rotten eggs. Around Pelée, the stench became so strong that people fainted in the streets.
  2. grisly
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    “The story gets more grisly. Maybe I should stop here.”
  3. venomous
    extremely poisonous or injurious
    “The earthquakes disturbed thousands of snakes that had been living on the mountain. They came slithering down into Saint-Pierre. Some of them were venomous six-foot-long pit vipers. Hundreds of people died from bites.”
  4. pumice
    a porous rock formed on the surface of some lavas
    First there was a massive explosion. Pumice and mud rained down.
  5. searing
    extremely hot
    And then a wave of searing hot gas and ash exploded out of the mountain and into Saint-Pierre.
  6. scald
    burn with a hot liquid or steam
    “That was the pyroclastic surge. Imagine the wind in a hurricane, but with air that’s scalding hot. Then add toxic gas and ground-up rock and ash. The heat is so extreme that it burns everything in its path. People died instantly, without even knowing what happened to them.”
  7. queasy
    feeling nausea
    Nobody spoke for a moment, and even Sam looked queasy.
  8. barge
    push one's way
    The next morning, Jess and Mom had barely finished breakfast when the twins came barging through their door.
  9. gush
    flow forth in a sudden stream or jet
    Pale gray smoke was gushing out of the top.
  10. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    The smoke today had billowed up for just a few minutes, and then turned white and disappeared.
  11. summit
    the top or extreme point of something
    A helicopter pilot would fly him up to the top of the volcano—the summit.
  12. astonishment
    the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
    “You actually go into the crater?” Eddie asked in astonishment.
  13. weary
    physically and mentally fatigued
    But he looked weary. Studying an active volcano wasn’t all helicopter rides and daredevil stunts. There were endless hours of sitting around and watching for changes.
  14. frustration
    the feeling of being thwarted in attaining your goals
    And there was the frustration of not having any clear answers.
  15. fume
    be mad, angry, or furious
    Jess kept her head down so her hair would hide her tears.
    “That Missy,” Eddie fumed.
  16. hesitate
    pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
    Jess hesitated. But then she put her hand on top of Sam’s.
  17. skitter
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    She heard none of the usual forest sounds—the chirps of birds and skittering of squirrels and chipmunks.
  18. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    “Eddie!” Sam chided. “What did you do?”
  19. wispy
    thin and weak
    This angry black cloud looked nothing like the wispy gray plumes they’d seen from Cedar.
  20. plume
    anything that resembles a feather in shape or lightness
    This angry black cloud looked nothing like the wispy gray plumes they’d seen from Cedar.
  21. blistering
    extremely hot
    There was only heat. Terrible, blistering heat.
  22. frantically
    in an uncontrolled manner
    They all dug frantically into the sides of the hole, trying to tunnel in.
  23. grasp
    understand the meaning of something
    It took a moment for her mind to clear. And slowly she grasped the full horror of what was happening.
  24. rasp
    speak in a harsh, grating voice
    A voice rasped from somewhere close.
  25. hack
    cough spasmodically
    The boys hacked and gagged, too.
  26. filter
    remove by passing through a device
    The shirt became a mask that filtered out the ash.
  27. gape
    be wide open
    Its sparkling peak was gone. In its place was a gaping black mouth vomiting up smoke.
  28. sludge
    any thick, viscous matter
    But now every stream she passed was ruined. The ash had turned the sparkling water to thick gray sludge that stank of sulfur.
  29. nauseating
    causing disgust so strong it makes you feel sick
    The ash had turned the sparkling water to thick gray sludge that stank of sulfur. Just the thought of trying to swallow a mouthful was nauseating.
  30. churning
    (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence
    Bolts of lightning shot through the churning cloud above.
  31. tramp
    travel on foot, especially on a walking expedition
    She imagined her great-grandfather Clive Marlowe tramping through these very woods alone when he was just a few years older than Jess.
  32. wasteland
    an uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation
    Jess turned and pointed to the wasteland all around them.
  33. debris
    the remains of something that has been destroyed
    The entire front of the mountain shattered. Millions of tons of rock and ice and volcanic debris crashed down the mountain.
  34. spare
    save or relieve from an experience or action
    The downtown of Cedar was spared. But some people lost their homes, including Missy.
  35. sly
    marked by skill in deception
    And a few nights later at Clive’s, Gretchen had told Mom and Jess her secret—that she was Skeleton Woman.
    “What?” Jess had gasped.
    Gretchen smiled slyly.
Created on Mon Sep 18 10:03:32 EDT 2023 (updated Mon Sep 18 12:49:08 EDT 2023)

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