I Survived the Galveston Hurricane, 1900: Chapters 1–7

by Lauren Tarshis
In this twenty-first book of the historical fiction I Survived series, eleven-year-old Charlie Miller, briefly swallowed by a wall of water at the beach, does not quite believe the weather office's statement that it's impossible for more powerful winds and waves to reach their island city in Texas.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–19
35 words 124 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. churning
    (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence
    He screamed for his parents and his little sister as the churning waters swept him away.
  2. sputter
    spit up in an explosive manner
    Charlie sputtered and gasped as he struggled to keep his head above the waves.
  3. gust
    a strong current of air
    But then came the monstrous waves.
    Ba-room!
    The wind that blasted with shrieking gusts.
    Whoo-eeeeeesh!
  4. gush
    flow forth in a sudden stream or jet
    Rain gushed down.
  5. gulf
    an arm of a sea or ocean partly enclosed by land
    But most shocking was when the usually peaceful Gulf of Mexico suddenly rose up higher, higher, higher—and swallowed the city.
  6. frantic
    excessively agitated; distraught with violent emotion
    Charlie looked frantically around him. Where were Mama and Papa and his little sister, Lulu?
  7. flutter
    flap the wings rapidly or fly with flapping movements
    Meraki threw a card into the air, and suddenly it was a yellow bird, fluttering around the theater.
  8. torment
    make suffer emotionally or mentally
    Gordon had started tormenting Charlie last spring, and it went on until the last day of school.
  9. dread
    fearful expectation or anticipation
    But lately the sight of gray clouds filled Charlie with dread.
  10. distract
    draw someone's attention away from something
    The passengers huddled below, terrified. And what did Meraki do? He put on a magic show, of course, distracting the audience with his dazzling tricks.
  11. slight
    small in quantity or degree
    He whipped his hand out of his pocket and put it up near Lulu’s ear. Flicking his hand slightly, he made the coin drop into his fingertips.
  12. peer
    look searchingly
    Charlie peered out the window.
  13. bay
    an indentation of a shoreline smaller than a gulf
    There was water all around them—the Gulf to the south and Galveston Bay to the north.
  14. carriage
    a vehicle with wheels drawn by one or more horses
    The street was busy—clogged with all kinds of wagons and carriages and buggies.
  15. stew
    food prepared by slowly cooking meat or fish with vegetables
    Last night at dinner, Papa had looked up from his stew and said, “You know what I just heard? There are more millionaires in Galveston than in almost any other small city in the world.”
  16. port
    where people and merchandise can enter or leave a country
    They had their port, with big ships coming from all over the world.
  17. teeter
    move unsteadily, with a rocking motion
    And then she teetered. “Whoooa!” She plopped into the water with a loud splash.
  18. puny
    of inferior size
    Charlie looked at the puny little waves now. It would be fun to have huge waves to ride on.
  19. lurch
    move suddenly or as if unable to control one's movements
    Sarah gave the tub a big heave. It lurched forward, and off Charlie went.
  20. blubber
    cry or whine with snuffling
    “Stop blubbering,” Gordon taunted. “You’re so weak!”
  21. relief
    the condition of being comfortable or alleviated of distress
    To his amazement—and relief—all his teeth were still attached.
  22. swollen
    abnormally enlarged, bloated, or expanded
    His bottom lip felt nasty. It was split and swollen.
  23. hobble
    walk unevenly due to pain, injury, or weakness
    Just then, he noticed an old man in a worn green hat hobbling toward them on the sidewalk.
  24. tolerate
    allow without opposing or prohibiting
    A boy was trailing behind them, and the man was scolding him.
    “I won’t tolerate this!”
  25. kerosene
    a flammable hydrocarbon oil used as fuel
    “They have electricity in every room,” she’d told Charlie and Papa later.
    At Charlie’s house, they still used kerosene lanterns.
  26. privy
    a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
    “They have a toilet...that flushes!”
    Even Papa was impressed with that. Charlie’s family still used their privy, a little shack a few feet outside the back door of their house. Inside was a hole in the ground, with a wooden seat on top.
  27. gruff
    blunt and unfriendly or stern
    On that night outside the restaurant, Mrs. Potts had smiled and waved, and Mr. Potts had said a gruff hello.
  28. pelt
    cast, hurl, or throw repeatedly with some missile
    Gordon glared at Charlie. Shoved him on the way out of recess. Pelted him with spitballs.
  29. maggot
    fly larva commonly found in decaying organic matter
    Something hit him in the stomach—a dead rat. A big, rotting rodent crawling with maggots.
  30. sneer
    smile contemptuously
    He looked out the window, and a hideous green cloud was swirling in the sky. All of a sudden, it twisted into a giant face. A giant, sneering face...a face Charlie recognized.
  31. reflection
    the image of something as it appears in a mirror
    Even in the dim light of the moon, Charlie could see his swollen lip in the reflection.
  32. vial
    a small bottle that contains liquid medicine
    Luckily I always carried a few small props with me—cards, some coins, and a small vial of red liquid called magic blood.
  33. shard
    a broken piece of a brittle artifact
    The vial was made of the thinnest glass. It was meant to be easily broken during a trick, and the shards would disappear into dust.
  34. rasp
    speak in a harsh, grating voice
    I used a low, rasping voice.
  35. gruesome
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    The magic blood sprayed onto the man’s face, the wall, and the ceiling. It was a gruesome show.
Created on Tue Oct 24 18:43:23 EDT 2023 (updated Tue Oct 31 15:33:04 EDT 2023)

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