The Boy Who Met a Whale: Chapters 1–6

by Nizrana Farook
On the island of Serendib, twelve-year-old Razi has not been in the water since his father died in a fishing accident, but then he meets a young stranded sailor who needs his help.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–15, Chapters 16–24, Chapters 25–36
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. lurch
    move suddenly or as if unable to control one's movements
    The boy clung to the rail with a death grip as the ship lurched violently in the storm.
  2. shrill
    having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
    The wind was shrill and whip-sharp.
  3. wheelhouse
    an enclosed compartment from which a vessel can be navigated
    The boy ran along the deck, slipping and sliding to the wheelhouse.
  4. ransack
    search thoroughly
    The room had been ransacked: drawers were hanging open and books had been tossed all over the place.
  5. debris
    the remains of something that has been destroyed
    The ship listed sharply and the debris on the floor slid to one side of the room where water was pooling, creeping darkly over fallen books.
  6. soundly
    deeply
    The crew had known they would be sailing into a storm. Why was the captain asleep so soundly? Why was the whole ship asleep?
  7. pelt
    rain heavily
    Rain pelted the men as they prepared to get in the boat.
  8. anguish
    extreme mental distress
    The ship was going down, and it was too late to save anyone. The boy wailed in anguish as he threw himself over the side and into the lifeboat.
  9. careen
    move sideways or in an unsteady way
    The last he saw of the ship was it careening jerkily off course.
  10. gritty
    composed of or covered with small particles
    The baby turtle scuttled down the golden beach, wet and gritty with sand.
  11. flail
    thrash about
    Bit by bit scores of others emerged, their shiny black bodies, flailing limbs, and beady eyes glinting in the early-morning sun.
  12. lag
    hang or fall in movement, progress, development, etc.
    It was lagging behind and in danger of getting lost.
  13. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    He knew not to touch it and so he hoped his voice would cheer it on instead. Sure enough, the white turtle perked up and scuttled after the others.
  14. fringe
    serve as or form a border around
    Coconut trees fringed the beach, their wiry trunks twisted like swaying cobras.
  15. solitary
    single and isolated from others
    It dipped into a wave and then lifted up, a solitary blot on the empty ocean.
  16. stagger
    walk as if unable to control one's movements
    Razi staggered back, jabbing his foot on a pointed shell.
  17. register
    enter into someone's consciousness
    The pain hardly registered as he watched the boat bobbing closer.
  18. groove
    a long narrow furrow cut by a natural process or a tool
    With all his strength he pulled the boat out of the sea and dragged it up the beach, making a groove in the soft sand.
  19. parched
    dried out by heat or excessive exposure to sunlight
    His lips were parched, and his skin was covered in patches of white where salt had dried.
  20. rustle
    make a dry crackling sound
    Even his clothes were dried up, and they rustled like paper when Razi shook his shoulder.
  21. glare
    a light that is brighter than what the eyes are adapted to
    Razi dragged him all the way up the sand to the shade of the coconut trees and laid him down. Out of the sun’s glare, it was instantly cooler, and there was a soft breeze too.
  22. gesticulate
    show, express, or direct through movement
    There were two men in the boat, and the taller of the two was standing up, gesticulating furiously at the beach while the other rowed to shore.
  23. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
    He blanched at the man’s furious expression.
  24. deliberately
    in a careful unhurried manner
    Marco still spoke slowly and deliberately.
  25. blather
    talk foolishly
    “That-that sounds clear enough.” He caught himself before he blathered on anymore.
  26. accomplice
    a person who joins with another in carrying out some plan
    With that, Marco and his accomplice got back in the boat and rowed off.
  27. furrow
    make or become wrinkled or creased
    His face furrowed slightly and his eyes traveled all around him—taking in the jewel-bright sea, the shell-strewn beach with the boat pulled up high on the sand, and the bunches of bright orange King coconuts in the tree above him.
  28. pry
    move or force in an effort to get something open
    “Here,” said Razi, prying the coconut open into two halves.
  29. stalk
    walk stiffly
    “Wait, where are you going?” said Razi, following Zheng as he stalked around in a panic.
  30. suppress
    control and refrain from showing
    Razi suppressed a chuckle. Whatever it was, clearly Zheng didn’t want Razi to know.
  31. lenient
    inclined to be permissive or indulgent
    His mother would be furious under normal circumstances, but ever since the accident she’d been far more lenient with him.
  32. dollop
    a soft lump or portion of something, especially food
    He put two roti on his plate and piled up a generous dollop of onion sambal from the clay pot.
  33. parcel
    a wrapped package
    Placing the clothes on the floor, he put the food parcel on the windowsill.
  34. snag
    catch or cause to catch on something sharp that is sticking out
    The first bit came out easily, but then one of the studs snagged on Zheng.
  35. apparition
    the appearance of a ghostlike figure
    They both screamed at the dark apparition standing in the sunlit doorway.
  36. bewildered
    extremely confused and uncertain what to do
    Zheng looked bewildered as he took it. “Do I eat it?”
  37. revolt
    fill with distaste or disgust
    She took out the knife she always carried around for collecting samples and slashed at one of the leaves, pointing to the slime oozing out of it.
    Zheng looked revolted.
  38. ideal
    conforming to an ultimate standard of perfection
    “Come on. You’re local and you know the sea around here. You’re the ideal person. Please say yes. I guarantee it’ll be the greatest adventure of your life!”
  39. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    “Why would you assume that going with you would be the greatest adventure of his life?” said Shifa.
  40. perplexed
    full of difficulty or confusion or bewilderment
    Razi was perplexed. “You’re saying the good people are the ones wanting to kill Zheng, a child?”
Created on Thu Dec 07 16:13:23 EST 2023 (updated Sat Dec 09 14:13:26 EST 2023)

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