When Tomorrow Burns: Part 1

by Tae Keller
Three middle school students, once best friends and now uncertain of their place in each other's lives, hunt for the sequel to a book of prophecies they found as children.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Parts 5–6
15 words 64 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. legible
    capable of being read or deciphered
    Maybe it was the way the scrawled entries were written in faded blue ink, or the way the handwriting was just barely legible, which made each line feel like a puzzle, or the way the little poems and phrases had the lilt and tilt of fantastical prophecies.
  2. calamity
    an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
    And to do that, calamity of all calamities, they’d have to talk to Arthur.
  3. antic
    a playful, attention-getting act done for fun and amusement
    Most of the time, he didn’t mind his dads’ antics.
  4. capitalism
    an economic system based on private ownership of assets
    “Blame institutionalized capitalism and American workism,” Danthony said.
  5. annihilation
    total destruction
    “We have to prevent complete and utter annihilation,” she announced, as if that were not a bizarre thing to say to someone you barely spoke to.
  6. bereft
    sorrowful through loss or deprivation
    His parents had been dramatically heartbroken when Arthur stopped hanging out with them. (Bereft, Danthony had announced.)
  7. debacle
    a sudden and complete disaster
    And what a debacle it was…
  8. regardless
    without due thought or consideration
    She wore a rainbow shirt under purple overalls, along with her plastic green rain hat, which she donned every day, regardless of the weather.
  9. patriarchy
    a form of social organization in which men hold power
    “Because it’s associated with girls and the patriarchy looks down on girls, yeah, yeah, I know,” Nomi interrupted.
  10. adequate
    sufficient for the purpose
    Nomi had begged Violet for an adequate explanation, and she’d gotten nothing.
  11. prophecy
    knowledge of the future, as from a divine source
    But her mom was also a practical person who didn’t believe in prophecies, et cetera, and if Nomi mentioned that pink clothes had in fact kick-started doom, her mom would start talking about coping strategies.
  12. condolence
    an expression of sympathy with another's grief
    “She really trapped you. Condolences, man.”
  13. threadbare
    thin and tattered with age
    In bags threadbare, coin to spare.
  14. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    “Super ominous,” Nomi said ominously.
  15. monumental
    of outstanding significance
    She searched a few of the prophecies at random, typing words that felt too monumental for Google.
Created on Wed Oct 07 03:27:19 EDT 2026 (updated Mon Oct 19 11:54:52 EDT 2026)

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