Where the River Takes Us: Chapters 1–7

by Lesley Parr
In Britain, 1974, many families struggled financially due to a coal shortage — and 13-year-old Jason (and his older brother) struggled even more since their parents had recently died. Hoping to reverse their situation, Jason and three friends embark on a quest to win reward money for finding a wildcat that roams a nearby forest, but their journey will ultimately change them forever.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–7, Chapters 8–18, Chapters 19–26, Chapters 27–43
15 words 35 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. pallet
    a portable platform for storing or moving goods
    This place, this scruffy, gravelly patch of land covered in rubble and pallets and anything else that can be dragged here, is where most of us Ponty kids hang around after school.
  2. unicycle
    a vehicle with a single wheel that is driven by pedals
    ‘If you want to ride on one wheel, why don’t you get a unicycle?’ she asks, holding out a hand, but I get up without taking it.
    ‘Choppers are cooler.’ I grin, checking my bike for scratches.
  3. satchel
    luggage consisting of a small case with a flat bottom
    ‘Where’s Rhodri?’
    ‘Left him outside Harwell’s, drooling over the Airfix kits. Mam’s going to tell me off, but I’ve got tons of homework.’ She lifts her satchel, like she’s trying to prove there are loads of books inside.
  4. corrugated
    shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges
    They’ve built a really good ramp out of an old door and some bricks. Tam has the idea of laying corrugated iron in front of it so when we ride over the top it just about shakes our brains out.
  5. pendant
    an adornment that hangs from a piece of jewelry
    He reaches inside his jumper. He does it all the time, without thinking, and rubs his thumb over the St Christopher pendant Mam and Dad got him for his eighteenth birthday.
  6. crafty
    marked by skill in deception
    ‘I was worried about my wages going down and got myself in a bit of a state. I wasn’t thinking properly.’ He holds his hands up. ‘No excuse, I know! But Snook’s crafty, they were never bothered about diesel, the plan all along was to hook me in. Have something to hold over me. So they started making threats—’
  7. daft
    foolish or mentally irregular
    ‘A reward,’ Jinx says, his eyes all daft and goggling like a cartoon person. ‘Look!’
  8. exclusive
    not divided or shared with others
    BIG CAT SIGHTING REWARD
    £100 for clear, exclusive photo
    See bottom right for Terms and Conditions
  9. dodgy
    marked by skill in deception
    They don’t have to think about food shopping and boring, boring bills.
    And they don’t have to worry about dodgy blokes like Snook Hall knocking the door.
  10. trundle
    move along on or as if on wheels or a wheeled vehicle
    At the end of our road, a woman’s coming towards us, trundling her tartan shopping trolley.
  11. tartan
    a crisscross design or a cloth having such a design
    At the end of our road, a woman’s coming towards us, trundling her tartan shopping trolley.
  12. witless
    lacking sense or understanding or judgment
    But Catrin’s right. As usual. It’s more than that. It’s the horrible feeling I’ve had in my chest ever since Snook knocked our door. So I tell her about Richie and Snook’s gang and she listens. Then we don’t say anything for a while, and it feels okay to have said it all. Good, even. Because, with Catrin, I can admit I’m scared witless.
  13. scrunch
    wrinkle, crease, or crumple a smooth surface
    She plays with her shoelaces, pressing the little plastic ends into her palms, making marks. ‘My mam’s going to kill me.’
    ‘Why?’
    Her face scrunches up. ‘Because of what I said to Mrs Fletcher.’
  14. snipe
    attack in speech or writing
    ‘It’s time he grew up and started shouldering his responsibilities.’
    How much more grown up does she want him to be? Mostly it feels like a thousand years since Richie North could be anywhere near irresponsible, the cool kid everyone wanted to be mates with. But he’s doing his best—we both are. If she stopped judging and picking and sniping for five minutes, she’d see that.
  15. exotic
    characteristic of another place or part of the world
    Tam swigs his squash and then splutters. ‘What...is this?’
    Jinx shrugs. ‘Pineapple. I know, I know—my mother’s going all exotic. But it’s either that or water.’
    Tam pulls a face. ‘I’ll drink it.’
Created on Mon Aug 10 17:20:41 EDT 2026 (updated Tue Sep 01 12:56:52 EDT 2026)

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