Will’s Race for Home: Chapters I–V

by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Will Samuels and his father embark on a 40-day trek from their Texas sharecropper existence to stake claim on free land during the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush. Having survived the dangers of traversing remote frontier lands, Will still must make the ride of his life for his family's freedom against all odds.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters I–V, Chapters VI–XI, Chapters XII–XVIII, Chapters XIX–XXX, Chapters XXXI–XXXVIII
15 words 8 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. hearth
    a built-in space in a wall where a fire can be built
    “It’s a sorry tale,” Ma murmurs, her back bent, stitching shirts or tending the hearth.
  2. bleak
    offering little or no hope
    Maybe Father likes how the sky makes people feel small? Or how the horizon seems bleak, dusty, and endless?
  3. furrow
    a long shallow trench in the ground
    After months of hard work—plowing furrows, row after row, sowing seeds, battling spider mites, weeds, stink bugs, and bollworms, the cotton blooms into white boll puffs.
  4. tedious
    so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
    We hurry as best we can. Even so, harvesting is slow, tedious.
  5. sharecropper
    a tenant farmer who owes a portion of each harvest for rent
    Mr. Thompson owns five hundred acres. Twenty-five sharecroppers work twenty acres each.
  6. glower
    look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval
    Father always returns, angry, hissing, “Still picking cotton. Still poor.”
    Sad-eyed, Ma sniffs; Grandpa glowers.
  7. emancipated
    free from traditional social restraints
    “We never begged,” crows Grandpa. “Emancipated. We were newly freed men.”
  8. beholden
    under a moral obligation to someone
    Father laughs. Astonishingly, he lifts me off my feet, twirls me twice. “Land rush means we have a chance to claim our own acres. Our own home. Not beholden, owing nobody.”
  9. chortle
    laugh quietly or with restraint
    “Standing tall like real men. That’s why I headed west.” Grandpa chortles. “Land to be claimed.”
  10. stricken
    affected by something overwhelming
    “I can’t go.”
    Father stands stricken, punched in his gut.
  11. vulnerable
    capable of being wounded or hurt
    Father, Ma, Grandpa look at me. I feel vulnerable. Scared.
  12. kerosene
    a flammable hydrocarbon oil used as fuel
    I double-check Ma’s list: extra flour, extra jerky, dried apples, rice, crackers…extra coffee, cornmeal, bacon, and beans…extra kerosene, extra lard, sugar, salt, and vinegar.
  13. awry
    away from the correct or expected course
    “Something always goes awry. Weather—cold, hot, rainy—and the terrain—muddy, flat, or rocky—all affect the trip...."
  14. abide
    put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    “I can’t abide staying here, worrying. It’ll be months with no word. Not knowing if you’re hurt...”
  15. downcast
    filled with melancholy and despondency
    Eyes downcast, Ma swallows.
Created on Wed Feb 25 20:37:36 EST 2026 (updated Tue Apr 07 11:51:08 EDT 2026)

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